Journalist Graeme Bailey has claimed that rumoured Tottenham target Conor Gallagher could end up leaving Chelsea in the final weeks of the transfer window if he finds himself being overlooked by Mauricio Pochettino.
Tottenham have already signed a creative midfielder this summer in the form of James Maddison but it was suggested by the Daily Mail’s Sami Mokbel on The Last World On Spurs two weeks ago that the North London club could be in the market for another number eight.
Gallagher is one of the names thought to be on Spurs’ radar, with Football.London reporting last month that the Lilywhites could use 23-year-old’s desire to remain in London to their advantage and get a deal over the line.
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This was followed up by an update on The Athletic’s live transfer blog (16/06, 3 pm), which suggested that Spurs were battling Brighton and West Ham for the England international’s signature while The Telegraph claimed last week that Newcastle could try and sign the Chelsea star on loan.
Bailey has now stated that Gallagher could push for a move in the final weeks of the transfer window if he does not get minutes under his belt in the first couple of games of the season.
The journalist said on the Talking Transfers Podcast about the Blues midfielder: “It makes a lot of sense and I think [Conor] Gallagher’s one of those where if he is to go it won’t be until late in August when we know what his situation is.
“Gallagher’s probably waiting for the first game of the season as well. We do see that in England in the Premier League when it all kicks off, a lot of these players won’t know until that opening weekend if they genuinely are part of these plans.
“You can be told in pre-season, ‘Oh yeah you’re part of my plans’, but if some of these players are sat on the bench on the opening weekend, they will become available and they’ll be a few at Chelsea like that.”
Our View
Tottenham could well be in the market for a box-to-box midfielder in the summer, particularly with Hojbjerg now looking likely to leave. Gallagher would tick a lot of boxes, given his age, homegrown status and Premier League experience.
