Newcastle United and West Ham United are among those interested in signing Chelsea prospect Conor Gallagher.
The 22-year-old is one of England’s most exciting young players following a loan at Crystal Palace last season.
However, his long-term future at Chelsea is in some doubt – and even more so after his actions on Saturday.
Gallagher, whom West Ham might be plotting a late transfer for [The Sun], picked up two yellow cards inside the first 27 minutes to get sent off versus Leicester City yesterday.
The England international, who’s also being tracked by Newcastle, is a massive talent but, as demonstrated against the Foxes, there’s maturity issues to iron out.
And even Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has refused to back him, telling Football London after the game that the foul which got him sent off was a ‘very, very bad decision’.
HHe said: “Today is he is responsible for what he did. Of course, he knows it was a huge mistake. We spoke briefly after the game and things like this can happe. It’s not purely his fault alone because it’s a set-piece for us and it’s sloppy how we take set-pieces at the moment.
“At the end of this chain is a decision that brings such a huge disadvantage after 25 minutes. It’s a very, very bad decision from Conor and, of course, he is upset.”
The good news is, as mentioned, Gallagher is only 22. If he was 32 and getting sent off for two bookings in the first half, that’s a different matter altogether.
And if West Ham and Newcastle are genuinely interested, nothing that happened today will have diminished their desire.
In fact, it’s possible that he’s even more available now because, honestly, the German manager might not have been as harsh on him via the media as he would’ve been with a player who was definitely going to be at Stamford Bridge all season.
So you could argue that his red card, and Tuchel’s fury, may push him closer to the exit.
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