Chelsea look to be closing in on a pretty unexpected move to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona, as the Catalan club try all the dirty tricks in the book to get rid of him.
It’s a great opportunistic pickup for the Blues – but it will come at a cost beyond the money spent on the midfielder.
Conor Gallagher has a lot to think about with the World Cup coming up this winter, after a superb campaign with Crystal Palace last time out. He’s obviously been promised a lot of action with Chelsea, but he’s behind three world class players in Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic in the pecking order.
Add de Jong to that, and it’s hard to see Gallagher getting a chance.
According to the Daily Mail, Crystal Palace are keen to get him back, and will pounce if the Blues let him go. West Ham have also been linked, and it’s hard to imagine the club convincing him to stay once that interest is concrete.