According to Football.London, 12 clubs are in the race to sign exciting midfielder Conor Gallagher on loan from Chelsea next season.
Football.London name Premier League sides Leeds United, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Southampton as just some of the teams that wish to take on the 20-year-old.
After impressing in the Championship this season with spells at Charlton and then Swansea, the Blues would like the ace to be tested in the top-flight next term, to a side that play a similar style to them.
It’s claimed that Palace and Leeds actually even explored permanent deals for Gallagher, or a loan that included a purchase option, Chelsea are not considering deals like this.
Gallagher starred for Charlton in the first-half of the season, contributing six goals and two assists, the ace followed this up during his time with the Swans by chipping in with a further six assists.
Gallagher, along with Blues teammate Marc Guehi and former Chelsea academy pal Rhian Brewster helped the Welsh outfit make the play-offs with their performances in the second-half of the season.
The Swans were knocked out in the semi-finals by Brentford, who lost to fellow west Londoners Fulham in the all-important final.
Gallagher has primarily featured in an attacking midfield role, but the ace has also impressed when deployed as a deep-lying playmaker or with traditional central midfield duties.
First-team football with Frank Lampard’s side will be hard to come by for the ace though, especially as the Blues often utilise a formation which uses just two central midfielders.
With such wide interest in Gallagher, the Blues face a difficult decision in determining which side will be best for Gallagher.
Of the named clubs that are vying for the England Under-21s starlet, not many consistently run with a No.10 or designated central attacking midfielder in their lineups.
Crystal Palace would be a decent option for the ace given their success whilst having Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Michy Batshuayi on loan, but the ace don’t play a similar style to the Blues at all.