Newcastle must pay £40m to sign 23-year-old who ‘Eddie Howe likes’ – journalist

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Newcastle United will have to pay top dollar if they are to sign Conor Gallagher from Chelsea permanently this summer.

The 23-year-old is once again on Newcastle’s radar, after he was denied a move to St James’ Park at the start of the year.

The Magpies’ interest in Gallagher has remained, and he is someone who the club would like to sign on loan as they look to bring in another midfielder following the arrival of Sandro Tonali.

However, a loan move might not suit Chelsea. If that is the case, it has been claimed that Eddie Howe’s side would be willing to make a permanent bid for the England international.

That might be the only way Newcastle can sign Gallagher, but it sounds like he is going to cost far too much money.

Chelsea want around £40million for Conor Gallagher

Journalist Ben Jacobs has spoke to Caught Offside about Newcastle’s next move in the transfer market after missing out on James Maddison on Dominik Szoboszlai, and has provided some information about Gallagher’s future amid interest from the Magpies.

“I don’t think Newcastle are too worried about missing out on either target,” he said.

“I still expect them to move for a creative-minded midfielder. Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher is a player Eddie Howe likes. Chelsea would prefer a sale not a loan and value Gallagher around £40million.”

Surely that is too much for Newcastle

If Chelsea would rather sell Gallagher than loan him and value him at around £40million, it is difficult to see him coming to Newcastle.

It was reported earlier in the summer that the Magpies only value Gallagher at £25million, which means the two clubs are about £15million apart in their respective valuations.

He is obviously a talented player and someone who Howe really likes, but he should not be a priority at the moment – especially not at £40million.

We have other positions that we need to improve in, so using a large chunk of our budget on Gallagher would be unwise. In the simplest terms, if we weren’t prepared to spend £40million on Maddison, there is surely no way we are going to spend £40million on Gallagher.

If he is going to join Newcastle, Chelsea either need to sanction a loan or lower their valuation. Otherwise, Gallagher is not going to be on his way to Tyneside.