Conor Gallagher has not worked out well at all as a new addition for Tottenham Hotspur , as the England international has struggled badly to make an impact in his new quarters. Spurs spent a whopping 40 million euros on Gallagher last winter transfer window and even broke their wage structure to accommodate the veteran midfielder, and they actually overpaid on purpose in order to secure Gallagher at the last second over his already existing interest from Aston Villa .
Given how close they had come in the Premier League table to each other before Spurs fell down to 17th, Villa and the Lilywhites have developed a bit of a rivalry. So it will please Tottenham a bit, then, that it appears Aston Villa likely signed a worse veteran box to box midfielder.
Although former Bayern Munich man Leon Goretzka joined Aston Villa this summer as a free agent, he technically wasn't free. His signing bonus of 10 million pounds is hefty and his wages of 7.8 million pounds per season are not much better than Gallagher's.
But at 31 years of age, Goretzka is also five years older than Conor Gallagher, and, most importantly for Tottenham Hotspur and now Aston Villa, he has a worse injury history and is already struggling with serious availability question marks.
According to Fabrizio Romano , Leon Goretzka has already suffered a new knee injury with his Premier League employers and will be out of action until October at a minimum, delaying his debut with Aston Villa even longer.
Goretzka said, "My body has reacted to the increased workload after my time away from the pitch. It's frustrating, but I need this short break now to come back at full strength."
Tottenham actually had interest in Goretzka in 2025 and even 2026, as they were considering him as a signing from Bayern Munich with one year left on his deal or even as a free agent, but they ultimately decided against him because of those concerns that have now bitten Aston Villa: his wages and injury history.
Plus, given how poorly Goretzka played in Bavaria for the last few years and how desperate Bayern were to get rid of him, Tottenham may have avoided signing an even worse player than Gallagher. Sure, Gallagher is no great shakes , but at least he is healthy and available , which is really important to Spurs, and he did help them in the Premier League relegation fight.
This article was originally published on www.hotspurhq.com as Tottenham actually avoided an even worse signing than Conor Gallagher .
