As Jhon Duran edges closer to his desired move to Stamford Bridge, it has been reported that Villa are wanting someone in return. Similar to the deal that is seeing Luiz head to Juventus, where Villa look likely to receive at least one player in return, the club are hoping for the same in this instance. It is being reported that Villa are demanding a fee of at least £40 million for Duran so would want a player coming the other way that would be of lower or roughly the same value. Lots of names have been flying around so let's look at who Villa could realistically take from the Chelsea squad.
Ian Maatsen
One player who has seen his name pop up as a possbility in the last few days is Maatsen. The young left back spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Dortmund took the Bundesliga and Champions League by storm with his pace and ability to create chances down the left. Maatsen was named in the Champions League Team of the Season and is someone who would prove a big upgrade on Lucas Digne and Alex Moreno. The 22-year-old Dutchman will be looking to play somewhere where he will be a regular starter and he would certainly get that at Villa.
Marc Cucurella
Another option at left-back that Villa could look at, and someone they've been linked with previously, is Spanish international Marc Cucurella. The former Brighton man got his big money move to Stamford Bridge following an impressive spell for the Seagulls that saw him being tipped as one of the best full-backs in the Premier League. However, Cucurella has struggled to repeat those performances at Chelsea and more have started to criticise him for poor performances. The final few weeks of the season however saw Cucurella play as an inverted full-back in Pochettino's system and looked good. With lots of Premier League experience, the 25 year-old could be another option and has a valuation much lower than Maatsen. The man from Spain is valued at £25 million.
Trevoh Chalobah
Chalobah has proven to be an exciting young centre back having solidified his place in the Chelsea starting eleven towards the end of last season. Having spent a lot of the season on the sidelines with injury, Chalobah returned to the squad in February and played the full ninety minutes in the vast majority of the remaining fixtures. Chalobah is a right footed player that can play at centre half as well as in midfield protecting the back four. Someone like Chalobah would provide great competition for Konsa and Mings at centre back as well as Boubacar Kamara in midfield. With Villa likely to play a huge number of games again next season, Chalobah's versatility would prove most useful as Villa will wish to rotate the squad more often than last season, where squad size and injuries limited Emery's opportunities to do so. Chalobah has a value of roughly £10-15 million and would therefore be a clever move financially for Villa.
Benoit Badiashile
After joining the blues in January 2023, Badiashile quickly settled into the Chelsea side and asserted his aerial domainance and physical strength. However, the giant centre half only managed a dozen or so starts last season due to a persistent groin injury. Villa, in Tyrone Mings's absence, conceded a high number of goals from corners, set pieces and crosses due to the lack of aerial presence in the box. Therefore, Badiashile would be ideally suited to a Villa defence that's current strengths are on the ball rather than dominating defensively. Unai Emery will be keen to reduce the number of goals conceded from set pieces next season and someone like Badiashile would certainly help to do that. Having signed for £35 million last January, it is likely his valuation will be around that mark if not a little higher.
Conor Gallagher
Gallagher is a name that has been in the headlines as someone who is very likely to leave Stamford Bridge this summer as Chelsea aim to raise funds to comply with PSR. Gallagher has been heavily linked with a move to Villa Park and with Douglas Luiz likely to leave, Gallagher would be a suitable replacement in midfield. However, it has also been reported that the player is happy at Chelsea and would only leave if Chelsea decide he must be sold for financial reasons. Gallagher would likely cost a fee of around £50 million outright so if he were to be part of the Duran deal Villa may have to give up their forward as well as a little bit of cash.
Armando Broja
In terms of position, Broja would be the most 'like-for-like' signing of all the names in tjis list. Having sturggled to cement a place in the Chelsea team and subsequently spending last the second half of last season at Fulham, Chelsea will be looking to offload the Albanian international who is valued at £20 million. Broja failed to make an impact at Craven Cottage and managed only a handful of appearances, mainly from the bench. Broja will be looking for fresh start and Villa may prove to be an option.
UTV