West Ham United wait for controversial Chelsea player transfer in January
West Ham are biding their time as they wait to learn if Chelsea will take the “controversial” decision to sell Conor Gallagher in January, according to talkSPORT.
The England midfielder was the subject of a reported £40million bid from the Hammers in July (Sky Sports), which the Blues rejected.
However, talkSPORT claim that the Hammers and Tottenham are waiting to here if Chelsea will cash in to help balance the books with FFP as selling Gallagher would be allowed to be accounted for as 100 per cent profit due to his status as an academy graduate.
The radio station wrote on their online transfer notebook (21 December): “Tottenham and West Ham are waiting in the wings if Chelsea take the controversial decision to sell Conor Gallagher.
“Gallagher has been one of Chelsea’s standout performers this season and has captained his boyhood club on numerous occasions.
“It is understood there is a section of the Blues hierarchy willing to cash in on Gallagher to help balance FFP rules because, as an academy product, any transfer fee received would be marked as 100 per cent profit on the balance sheet.”
A quality addition
If you were to ask most Hammers supporters where they think the squad needs upgrading in January, most probably would not immediately think of central midfield as an area for improvement.
Even accounting for the fact that Declan Rice was sold to Arsenal in the summer, David Moyes made two excellent additions in James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez, while Tomas Soucek is obviously still an option in the centre.
Most would probably look at the striker and left-back position as areas more in need of reinforcement, but the truth is Gallagher would be a quality addition to the Hammers’ midfield and you can never have enough quality.
Most Chelsea fans would probably be disappointed to see Gallagher leave as he has been one of their most consistent performers in an inconsistent season, but the decision may be made to cash in for financial reasons. If that happens, West Ham should definitely pounce.
In other West Ham news, one striker has been exiled from his team amid reports the Hammers want to sign him.