Sean Whetstone has lifted the lid on the truth about a West Ham move for Chelsea star Conor Gallagher after a new claim.
West Ham have now been linked with Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher in every window for the last two years.
And a recent report from 90min stated Gallagher is firmly on the radar for West Ham in the January transfer window despite being one of Chelsea’s best players this season.
Eyebrows were raised when The Athletic then made the same claim.
Whetstone on West Ham move for Gallagher
And the outlet reported that the Hammers 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.
And an Evening Standard reporter has now stated on the latest Sky Sports Transfer Talk Podcast that West Ham may be willing to meet Chelsea’s £40 million asking price for the 23-year-old England international.
It sounds like a rather ridiculous link to anyone who has half a clue about West Ham. Especially given the club clearly has much higher transfer priorities in other positions. And that’s because it is.
Sean Whetstone has lifted the lid on the truth about a West Ham move for Chelsea star Gallagher after the new claim.
F.ictional F.ake P.oppycock
Whetstone, who counts Hammers majority owner David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady among his contacts, has poured cold water on the speculation.
“West Ham will NOT be signing Conor Gallagher this January!” Whetstone said.
“Evening Standard journalist Dan Kilpatrick had suggested the Hammers could be set to challenge Spurs for Gallagher’s signature this month but that is not the case.”
The Gallagher situation may well have interested West Ham after they sold Declan Rice in the summer.
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 go out and sign another central midfielder simply is not going to happen – as Whetstone has once again reiterated here.
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