Chelsea have rejected a £40 million offer from West Ham United for Conor Gallagher, sources have told ESPN.
The 23-year-old is part of Mauricio Pochettino’s 29-man squad currently on a preseason tour of the United States where the new head coach has admitted they lack sufficient midfield options ahead of the new campaign.
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However, Gallagher is believed to be available for a fee in the region of £50m and it remains to be seen whether West Ham return with an improved bid as they look to replace Declan Rice, who joined Arsenal earlier this month in a deal worth up to £105m.
Gallagher started 18 Premier League matches last season, during which time Chelsea also rejected an offer in the region of £45m from Everton in January.
Tottenham have also previously been credited with an interest.
Chelsea are looking to revamp their midfield with Brighton’s Moises Caicedo a leading target after allowing N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz all leave in addition to Denis Zakaria rejoining Juventus at the end of his loan spell.
