Chelsea face battle to keep hold of impressive young midfielder

Chelsea face a battle to ensure that midfielder Conor Gallagher remains with the club beyond the end of the transfer window, with Newcastle United prioritising a move for the player in its closing weeks. 

As reported by The Sun, the Magpies are ready to pursue a deal for Gallagher, making him their priority for the remainder of the window.

Eddie Howe was keen to add Leicester City midfielder James Maddison to his squad but, having had offers rejected, it is understood that they are losing hope of landing the Foxes midfielder.

They have now identified England international Gallagher as an alternative to Maddison, and are hopeful of agreeing a deal for him.

The 22-year-old came on as a late substitute in the Blues’ opening day victory over Everton last weekend, but is likely to struggle for regular game time with the likes of N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all vying for two central midfield roles.

Gallagher made his Chelsea debut against Everton

Thomas Tuchel has previously spoken of his admiration for the Englishman, claiming to be a ‘huge fan’ of the player.

“In general, nobody is for sale, and everybody is for sale,” he said when asked about Gallagher’s future.

“It depends on what the player wants, how bad the player wants it, what we think, who is ready to pay a certain amount of money.

“Then maybe everybody is for sale.

“Conor fights in central midfield. To be very honest, it’s a tough fight for him because at the moment, as it seems, we only have two places in central midfield, which is a bit unfair given the number of players we have for central midfield.

“It’s not ideal, I agree. But we have to do what’s best for the squad, not what’s best for every individual player.

“I’m a huge fan of Conor. He is first of all a fantastic guy.

“In the first weeks of training, he showed how much of a step he made by having so much playing time and how much of a personality on the pitch he became.”