West Ham United transfer news as bid made for Conor Gallagher
West Ham have made their move for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, as they look to beat Tottenham to his signature, with an opening bid of £37million plus add-ons made last week, according to journalist Jacob Steinberg.
The Guardian journalist shared via his personal Twitter account overnight on 24 July that West Ham’s opening bid for Gallagher totalled £40million overall as they look to replace Declan Rice.
There may now be a bump in the road, however, as Steinberg later shared that Chelsea have rejected the East London club’s bid, while West Ham are not willing to go any higher on the fee.
A reasonable opening offer
West Ham’s offer to the tune of £40million is a reasonable starting bid for a player Chelsea are reported to value at around that price, as a report from Sky Sports [19 July] shared the Blues would consider any offer exceeding £40million.
The Hammers’ unwillingness to go further on this bid seems odd, unless they think they will be the only club to move for Gallagher and therefore Chelsea will be forced to lower their demands, but with strong interest from Tottenham, this could be risky.
A separate report from Tuttomercato on 21 July revealed that West Ham had made Gallagher their top midfield target this summer as they look to replace Rice by strengthening their squad overall.
The England international is an entirely different player to the former Hammers captain. A manic high-pressing machine, with a good eye for goal and ability to sniff out space in the box, who provides energy and drive to a team. His strengths lay on the opposite side of the pitch to Rice’s.
In other West Ham news, European giants are readying a fresh bid for West Ham striker.