The starlet, who Alex Crook claims West Ham are waiting to sign, will now join Spurs as big Conor Gallagher claim has emerged.
West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly in a battle for Conor Gallagher in the summer window.
The Hammers and rivals Spurs have been linked with Gallagher for some time.
But when he stayed at Chelsea and established himself as one of the first names in their squad this season, it seemed to be just a transfer issue.
According to a recent report by 90min, Gallagher is on the radar of West Ham and Tottenham in the January transfer window, despite being one of Chelsea’s best players this season.
The eyebrows were raised when The Athletic then made the same claim.
And West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur were reported to have said the Blues would listen to offers of more than £40m for Gallagher in January as they seek to reduce FFP concerns by selling homegrown players who represent a net profit.
Just before Christmas, Alex Crook, talkSPORT’s transfer reporter, claimed that West Ham and Tottenham were “waiting in the wings” to sign Gallagher in January.
“Tottenham and West Ham are waiting in the wings if Chelsea make the controversial decision to sell Conor Gallagher,” Crook said.
Tottenham in talks over £40m
“Gallagher has been one of Chelsea’s most prominent players this season and has captained his club on several occasions.
“When asked by talkSPORT last week whether he would like the England centre-forward to stay, manager Mauricio Pochettino hinted that a decision would be made at board level.”
Well, the starlet, who Crook claims West Ham are waiting to sign, is now set to join Spurs as a new claim from Gallagher has emerged.
A number of media outlets, including The Sun, claim that Gallagher is in “talks” with Tottenham ahead of a £40m transfer.
So it seems that the Hammers are well on their way to handing over the player they have been monitoring for the last two years to one of their biggest rivals.
Speculation versus reality
Praise for Spurs if they beat West Ham to Gallagher. He is a tenacious and combative England international who will only make them better.
But the reality of West Ham is that he has to transfer players to satisfy the FFP rules himself.
When West Ham were linked with Gallagher ten days ago, Hammers News revealed why the deal was a complete failure.
The Gallagher situation could interest West Ham after they sold Declan Rice in the summer.
A good player, but the Hammers don’t need him
But the fact is that the Hammers don’t need a central midfielder anymore. Tim Steidten and David Moyes signed Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse – both better players than Gallagher in their specialities.
West Ham also have Tomas Soucek and Moyes is trying to find a way to bring Lucas Paquet back into midfield, having moved him to the left side for most of this season.
The Hammers need to reinforce much more pressing positions in January. But even if they were interested in Gallagher, it would be a £40 million fiasco.
West Ham need to raise funds and send players to create space and meet the FFP rules on wage-to-revenue ratios.
Selling a number of fringe players to then sign another central midfielder is simply never going to happen.
On the positive side, this move can only weaken Chelsea, who moved to within five points of the Hammers with victory at Luton.