Thomas Tuchel may have to re-consider his Chelsea transfer priorities ahead of September 1 because of Newcastle United.
The Toon have made a few lowkey additions so far this summer including making Matt Targett's loan permanent. They have also signed highly-rated defender Sven Botman. But so far, their eagerly anticipated first summer transfer window under the PIF Saudi ownership appeared to be heading on track to become an underwhelming one.
However, this is all set to change. The Athletic have reported that Newcastle's £60m move for Alexander Isak is now 'imminent' and the fun doesn't stop there for the Magpies. This is due to reports such as The Telegraph's Luke Edwards tweeted: 'Told nufc pushing hard for Gallagher on loan from Chelsea after landing Isak from Real Sociedad. I have to be honest I have no idea where this leaves Pedro deal now. Some saying deal remains close, others saying Watford have rejected final bid already this week. We shall see.'
READ MORE: Chelsea handed Frenkie de Jong curveball as Barcelona reach £88m ultimatum to end transfer saga
Chelsea's number 23 struggled against Leeds United at the weekend and fared similarly in the brief minutes he racked up in the London derby Tottenham draw.
Tuchel is a big fan of Gallagher and planned to incorporate him into the first team fray. So much so that the German was adamant that alongside the 22-year-old, he had enough options in midfield to cope without a Frenkie de Jong type signing amid injury woes.
"Better not. It's not the day to talk about individual performances," he bluntly replied when asked about the performance of the former Crystal Palace loanee. "Another midfielder? We have Jorginho, N'Golo Kante, we have Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher, Mateo Kovacic…."
He then added on the current injury situation: "They're injured, yes, it's a problem. But they will come back. They've not disappeared."
Thankfully, in the short-term, Kovacic's emergence in open training this week may qualm a few nerves about the lack of depth in the midfield but Gallagher moving up north must only re-emphasise a need for a new midfielder to be signed amid all the focus currently being on the likes of Anthony Gordon, Wesley Fofana and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
De Jong, just like he did against Real Sociedad, is set to start in the friendly at the Camp Nou against Man City on Wednesday night as a Barcelona stay is looking increasingly more likely as the days go by.
Even if the Barca midfielder is set to stay, Boehly must dig into his pocket and get creative with the likes of Youri Tielemans a Premier League option. Outside the Premier League, there are many up-and-coming midfielders that could make a mark in SW6 if pursued.
Chelsea fans - Would you loan out Conor Gallagher if no replacement was to be signed in the midfield? Leave your thoughts on this debate in the comments section below!
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