Newcastle might struggle to sign Conor Gallagher after N’Golo Kante injury – opinion

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Newcastle United want to sign Conor Gallagher from Chelsea, but that might be trickier after what happened at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Chelsea faced Tottenham and played out a 2-2 draw, in a game that was watched by Toon owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi. They were guests of Chelsea owner Todd Boehly, who invited them to Stamford Bridge.

They witnessed a brilliant game that included multiple Newcastle targets. Gallagher, Armando Broja and Christian Pulisic all came off the bench – three players who have been linked with moves to St James’ Park.

Gallagher came on in the 84th minute for Chelsea, and talk of a transfer to Newcastle has increased this weekend. The Sun claimed that the £40million-rated midfielder is now one of the Magpies’ top targets after the James Maddison deal collapsed.

However, Newcastle might have similar luck when it comes to Gallagher – but for different reasons.

Newcastle might not be able to sign Gallagher

While Leicester simply didn’t want to sell Maddison, injury might force Chelsea into keeping Gallagher.

When the 22-year-old came on against Tottenham, he was brought on to replace N’Golo Kante. But it wasn’t a tactical decision by Thomas Tuchel. Instead, it was enforced.

The World Cup winner had to come off due to a hamstring injury – and the early diagnosis isn’t promising.

After the game, Tuchel said: “It seems like a muscle injury, a hamstring. He said he feels it pretty strong, so not good.”

Not good for Chelsea, not good for Kante, and not good for Newcastle and their hopes of signing Gallagher.

If the Frenchman is set for a spell on the sidelines, it feels like that Tuchel will want to keep Gallagher. He might be more inclined to stay too, as he will suddenly be more likely to play.

It all depends on how long Kante will be out for. In comparison, Jonjo Shelvey is also suffering from a hamstring injury and isn’t set to play for Newcastle until after the World Cup.

That’s why Gallagher is needed at St James’ Park, but a similar injury could be what prevents him from being available.

Staveley’s visit to Stamford Bridge will hopefully have boosted our transfer hopes, but she may have witnessed her shot at signing Gallagher going up in smoke.