Summary West Ham United's interest in Conor Gallagher remains strong, even though Chelsea is not considering him "untouchable." West Ham's attempts to sign other players this summer have been hindered by high asking prices. Despite West Ham's rejected bid of £40m for Gallagher, the club's interest in the dynamic midfielder persists, with Chelsea valuing him at around £50m.
West Ham United have maintained their "interest" in Conor Gallagher, and while Chelsea are happy to keep him, they do not consider him "untouchable", claims transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
Is Conor Gallagher joining Chelsea this summer?
Life in a post-Declan Rice world has been frustrating for West Ham so far as, despite pocketing a cool £105m – a new record for a British footballer – the only player they have acquired on the market thus far has been Sean Moore from Northern Irish side Cliftonville.
It hasn't been through lack of trying, however, as the club have been linked to a swath of players this summer, the likes of Joao Palhinha, James Ward-Prowse, and Harvey Barnes, before he was sold to Newcastle United.
The problem is the prices they are being quoted for these players, with the Cottagers asking for anything from £60m to £90m for Palhinha this summer.
It seems like their influx of cash from the Rice sale has given selling clubs the confidence to ask for more money when the Irons come knocking.
It looks like this situation has played out yet again, only this time with Chelsea's Conor Gallagher.
According to Sky Sports, the Hammers made an offer worth £40m to sign the 23-year-old, an offer which was rejected, despite the dynamic midfielder having just two years left on his £50,000-a-week contract.
Despite this setback, the East Londoners have maintained their interest in the England international and could try again this summer, per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
He explained the situation on his YouTube channel, saying:
"They received an official bid from West Ham for Conor Gallagher. It's around £40million, it also includes some add-ons. It's something around £39m plus add-ons from West Ham, and from Chelsea, it was a no.
"So, after thinking about that in the recent hours with Mauricio Pochettino involved in the conversation, Chelsea decided to say no to that bid. They want more to let Conor Gallagher go.
"For Chelsea, Gallagher is not untouchable, they can sell him, but they want a good proposal. He's not out of the project, but they would only sell for a good proposal.
"And now the feeling is that they want something around £50m. Lets see what West Ham will do, but the opening bid has been rejected but the interest is still there."
How good is Conor Gallagher?
In what was one of Chelsea's worst seasons in a very long time last year, Gallagher had a decent enough season in which he was given a relatively significant amount of game time, 1657 minutes, to be exact.
Across his 1616 minutes in the Premier League, he scored three goals and provided one assist, giving him a goal involvement every 404 minutes or one every four and a half games.
While that certainly isn't all that impressive, his underlying numbers are, and suggest that maybe he should have found himself on the scoresheet more often than he did last year.
According to FBref, who compare players in a similar position across Europe's top five leagues, the Epsom-born dynamo sits in the top 3% for touches in the opposition's penalty area, the top 4% for progressive passes received and blocks, the top 9% for non-penalty expected goals, the top 12% for total shots, the top 19% for progressive carries, the top 21% for successful take-ons, and the top 22% for expected assists, all per 90.
While he hasn't entirely lived up to the hype he generated during his loan spell with Crystal Palace – a spell that led Spanish publication Marca (via the Daily Mail) to call him a "jewel" – Gallagher certainly looks to have the raw ingredients to be a fantastic Premier League player, and David Moyes should be going back in for him.