Newcastle United are eyeing the potential transfer of Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher after missing out on both James Maddison and Dominik Szoboszlai, according to CaughtOffside columnist Ben Jacobs.
The Magpies are relaxed about their midfield situation despite having an interest in Maddison before he ended up at Tottenham, and also in Szoboszlai before he was announced as a new signing for Liverpool in the last few days.
Gallagher looks another decent option for Newcastle in that position, though with the signing of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan, they probably don’t need to worry too much about that area of the pitch.
Eddie Howe is putting an exciting squad together, with a left-back also a priority for the rest of this summer, according to Jacobs.
Tino Livramento and Kieran Tierney could be options for Newcastle, while links with Raphinha seem a tad premature as he’s thought to favour staying at Barcelona.
“Newcastle are delighted with the arrival of Sandro Tonali from Milan,” Jacobs said.
“Tonali is far more than just a defensive midfielder. He is really a No.8. And his arrival led Newcastle to pivot from James Maddison. Maddison was a long-term target, and Newcastle even bid for him last summer, but Spurs moved quickly, and Newcastle were happy to back out the race.
“Newcastle were also certainly alert to Dominik Szoboszlai’s release clause. Szoboszlai has now joined Liverpool. Again Newcastle chose to walk away knowing the player really wanted the Liverpool move over the weekend.
“I don’t think Newcastle are too worried about missing out on either target. 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 £40m. Although there are also Raphinha links (and to several clubs) doing the rounds, I understand he ideally wants to stay at Barcelona.
“The other priority position is left-back. Newcastle haven’t been able to strike a deal to date with Southampton for Tino Livramento. They have also considered Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney. But nothing is advanced there. First Tierney needs to speak to Arsenal to clarify his future.”