Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a move for the Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher in recent weeks.
The 23-year-old midfielder is on their transfer radar as they look to wrap up an eventful January transfer window. Spurs have done well to sign Timo Werner and Radu Dragusin so far and they need to sign a quality midfielder now.
Gallagher is certainly one of the best young midfielders in the league and he would be a superb addition to the Spurs squad.
The Londoners are already without Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr because of AFCON and they could lose Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as well if the Denmark international decides to move on this month due to the lack of playing time.
Adding another central midfielder should be a priority for them, but Ben Jacobs has now warned that Gallagher could cost a premium.
He revealed to GiveMeSport that the 23-year-old might cost around £55-60 million instead of the recently reported figure of £45-50 million.
“When people say that Chelsea would sell for the right price, that’s not Chelsea being desperate to force Gallagher out of the door.
“That’s saying if somebody comes in with a minimum guaranteed offer of £45million, and probably a total package of £55million or £60million, Chelsea would consider a sale. If that number is not hit, Gallagher will stay – in all likelihood – at Chelsea.
“I don’t see Spurs getting anywhere near that package because if £35million was their number at the back end of the last window, it’s hard to believe that they will jump up – particularly with the way that Daniel Levy does business – to £55million or £60million.
“Chelsea’s stance would have to soften, or it’s hard to see Spurs getting that one done, despite the fact that they do admire the player.”
In that case, Spurs will probably have to pay a club record fee to sign the player. They paid a record £53 million for Tanguy Ndombele and the fee for Gallagher could surpass that.
It will be interesting to see if Daniel Levy is willing to shell out that kind of money for the Chelsea star.
Gallagher fits the profile of midfielder Spurs need and they will benefit from his drive, work rate and pressing ability.
It remains to be seen whether the two clubs can agree on a reasonable deal now.