Aston Villa are exploring a move for Atletico Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher.
Unai Emery would like an energetic midfielder who can play the number eight role and is a fan of Gallagher from his time at Chelsea.
Harvey Elliott's loan from Liverpool has not worked and the manager has made it clear they won't give him the necessary starts to trigger his buy option.
Villa held talks to sign Gallagher from Stamford Bridge before a deal was agreed with Atletico.
Gallagher, still only 25, has made 27 appearances for Atletico this season and started in the Spanish Super Cup defeat to fierce rivals Real Madrid on Thursday.