West Ham are continuing to pursue Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, it has been reported.
Our Hammers are currently in the market for a new midfielder to replace the recently departed Declan Rice. As reported previously by ExWHUEmployee and now Sky Sports, one of these targets includes Chelsea’s Gallagher, with the former Crystal Palace loanee valued at over £40m.
However, as reported by TeamTalk, recently appointed Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino does not wish to sell and West Ham could be forced to look elsewhere, with the likes of Ajax’s Edson Alvarez, Joao Palhinha of Fulham, and Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka on their radar too.
Despite Pochettino being unwilling to sell, Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg reports that a deal for Gallagher is already “well advanced” and would cost between €25m-€30m (equating to roughly £20m-£30m), although reports suggest that Chelsea’s valuation of the player is much higher than this.
With Chelsea lacking depth in the midfield, Gallagher would likely have to attempt to force a move to the club – especially with the information being reported.
Amid the interest, Pochettino has taken the England international on Chelsea’s USA pre-season tour, where he featured against Wrexham last night and scored a goal in their 5-0 win. Chelsea will also face fellow Premier League clubs Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United, and Fulham in their USA tour, with their final game coming against Borussia Dortmund.
Gallagher featured 45 times for Chelsea in all competitions under a host of different managers, though was largely used in rotation throughout the season. Although it’s at Crystal Palace where Gallagher made himself noticed, as his performances under Patrick Vieira saw him in Gareth Southgate’s plans.
