A star Alex Crook claims West Ham are waiting to sign is now set to join Spurs as a big Conor Gallagher claim is made.
West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur were said to be locked in battle for Conor Gallagher in the summer window.
The Hammers and rivals Spurs have been linked with Gallagher for some time.
But when he remained at Chelsea and established himself as one of the first names on their teamsheet this season, that looked like nothing more than transfer tittle tattle.
According to a recent report from 90min, Gallagher is firmly on the radar for both West Ham and Tottenham in the January transfer window despite being one of Chelsea’s best players this season.
Star West Ham ‘waiting to sign’ now set for Spurs
Eyebrows were when The Athletic then made the same claim.
And they reported that West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur had been told the Blues would listen to offers of over £40m for Gallagher in January as they seek to ease FFP concerns by selling homegrown players who represent pure profit.
Just before Christmas, talkSPORT transfer reporter Alex Crook claimed both West Ham and Tottenham are ‘waiting in the wings’ to sign Gallagher in January.
“Tottenham and West Ham are waiting in the wings if Chelsea take the controversial decision to sell Conor Gallagher,” Crook said.
Tottenham ‘in talks’ over £40m deal
“Gallagher has been one of Chelsea’s standout performers this season and has captained his boyhood club on numerous occasions.
“When quizzed by talkSPORT last week on if he wanted the England midfielder to stay, manager Mauricio Pochettino hinted that decision would be made at board level.”
Well the star Crook claims West Ham are waiting to sign is now set to join Spurs as a new Gallagher claim is made.
A host of outlets including The Sun are claiming Gallagher is ‘in talks’ with Tottenham ahead of a £40m move.
So it seems the Hammers are on course to miss out on a player they have tracked for the last two years to one of their biggest rivals.
Speculation vs reality
Credit to Spurs if they do beat West Ham to Gallagher. He’s a tenacious, combative England international who will only make them better.
But West Ham’s own reality is that players must be moved on to satisfy FFP rules themselves.
When West Ham were linked with Gallagher 10 days ago, Hammers News revealed why that deal was a complete non-starter.
The Gallagher situation may well have interested West Ham after they sold Declan Rice in the summer.
Good player but Hammers don’t need him
But the fact of the matter is, the Hammers no longer need a central midfielder. Tim Steidten and David Moyes signed Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse – both better players than Gallagher in their specialisms.
West Ham also have Tomas Soucek while Moyes is trying to find a way to get Lucas Paqueta back into the middle of the park having moved him out to the left for much of this season.
The Hammers have much more pressing positions to bolster in January. But even if they were interested in Gallagher, it would be a non-starter at £40m.
West Ham must raise funds and ship players out to create space and satisfy FFP wages-to-turnover rules.
Selling a host of fringe players to then sign another central midfielder was simply never going to happen.
On the plus side the move can only serve to weaken Chelsea, who moved to within five points of the Hammers with a victory at Luton.
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