Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Everton, Newcastle & West Ham all miss out on £45m target

Follow us on Google Discover

Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Everton, Newcastle & West Ham have all missed out on the signing of Conor Gallagher.

What’s the story?

Well, that is according to The Athletic on their transfer deadline day live blog, after Chelsea decided to keep the England international.

Unai Emery, Patrick Vieira, Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and David Moyes were all keen to sign Gallagher, although Chelsea are not interested in another loan exit for their No.23, while bids for him have not been to their satisfaction.

According to talkSPORT, one offer worth £45m was being seriously considered by Chelsea, although the 22-year-old himself was not keen on a move to Goodison Park.

The Athletic believe Chelsea have high hopes for Gallagher and he fits the age profile that Graham Potter is looking to build his side around.

Therefore, the Blues have decided to keep their academy graduate in west London for the second half of the campaign, with a summer exit possible if he fails to make a name for himself under Potter.

So far this season, Gallagher has made 25 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal while also providing one assist.

Gallagher should’ve rejoined Crystal Palace over Everton, Newcastle, Aston Villa or West Ham

In our view, the Epsom-born midfielder should have rejoined Crystal Palace on loan having enjoyed such a successful time in south London last term.

Gallagher is struggling to cement himself at Stamford Bridge, whereas he was named Player of the Season during his 2021/22 campaign on loan at Crystal Palace, where he earned his first four caps for England.

Of course, we understand why he wants to make it at Chelsea, as he is said to support the Blues.

However, Potter clearly feels he can be upgraded on as Chelsea pursue moves for Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.

Vieira proved that he knew how to get the best out of Gallagher last season, so as his reputation begins to fizzle out, we feel a return on loan to Crystal Palace would have been a wise decision.