Chelsea have rejected a £40 million bid from West Ham United for England midfielder Conor Gallagher.
West Ham, who have also made their opening move for Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, are looking to rebuild their midfield following the £105 million sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal.
Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United have also shown interest this summer in signing Gallagher, who is one of the few remaining senior midfielders in Chelsea’s squad.
Telegraph Sport reported this week that Spurs are a more likely destination for Gallagher than West Ham.
The 23-year-old has two years left on his Chelsea contract, meaning that this summer represents the club’s last chance to extract full value for the academy graduate.
West Ham’s list of potential targets is also believed to include Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha and Switzerland international Denis Zakaria, who spent last season on loan from Juventus to Chelsea.
Chelsea currently have a shortage of senior central midfield players following the departures of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek since the turn of the year.
Mauricio Pochettino selected only six midfielders for the club’s pre-season tour of the United States, with Gallagher the oldest of those six.
Chelsea remain keen to sign Moises Caicedo, their top midfield target this summer, but are yet to come close to matching Brighton’s valuation of the player, which exceeds £100 million.
Gallagher made 35 Premier League appearances last season, scoring three goals, but only 18 of those were as a starter.
The England international has been in good form in pre-season so far and scored in this weekend’s victory over Brighton, despite the uncertainty over his future.
Gallagher has previously spent seasons on loan at West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace in the Premier League. At Palace, during the 2021/22 campaign, his energetic performances in the centre of midfield were so impressive that he was named the club’s player of the season.
