Tottenham ‘firm admirers’ of Chelsea star with sale now ‘possible’ amid contract doubt

Chelsea are currently not close to agreeing a new contract with Tottenham target Conor Gallagher so are open to selling if they receive a ‘suitable offer’, according to David Ornstein.

Tottenham tried to sign Gallagher from the Blues last summer and remain interested in him.

Due to Reece James’ injury problems, the England midfielder has captained Mauricio Pochettino’s side for the vast majority of 2023/24 and has thrived in the role.

After coming close to leaving last summer, Gallagher has been excellent and talk of being sold in January has been met with confusion.

Chelsea need to sell players to raise funds and academy graduates are the ideal choices due to the fact they can be sold for pure profit.

This has cast doubt over the futures of Gallagher and Armando Broja – who has been linked with an exit this month.

The Athletic correspondent Ornstein has provided an update on Gallagher’s future, confirming Spurs are ‘firm admirers’ and that a sale could happen if Chelsea receive a ‘suitable offer’.

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Asked what Gallagher’s current status is during a Q&A, Ornstein replied: ‘No change yet.

‘He’s out of contract in June 2025 and therefore ideally for Chelsea he would sign a new deal or be sold. A new deal is not close at present and therefore if a suitable offer was to arrive, Chelsea would very possibly sell. But that’s a big ‘if’ and it hasn’t happened so far.

‘We know Tottenham are firm admirers; they tried to sign him last summer and perhaps they would like to do so again, but it would require a player like Hojberg to be sold first and currently there doesn’t seem to be anything developing on that front.

‘The ‘ideal’ situation is not a firm rule, so it’s plausible the window closes without a new contract or sale – and right now the departure of Armando Broja is looking more likely than Gallagher.

‘To be clear, Chelsea are extremely fond of Gallagher as a player and character. Clearly his is an important part of Mauricio Pochettino’s plans. But we know there are other factors involved, so let’s see how the next week pans out.’

Ornstein was also quizzed on Spurs’ reported interest in Club Brugge’s teenage winger Antonio Nusa.

Ange Postecogou’s side are reportedly leading the race to sign Nusa – who is attracting interest from a host of top clubs.

Ornstein says Spurs are in a decent position to land the 18-year-old, with any deal likely to involve him returning to Brugge on loan until the end of the season.

‘It has not developed significantly since last week’s reports, so it’s close but not done,’ he said.

‘This is a top young player who many other big clubs are also looking at, so Spurs won’t be getting ahead of themselves.

‘A lot of work has clearly gone into it and they’ll hope to this over the line – but only at a price they deem to be fair.

‘The expectation is any deal would involve Nusa returning to Bruges until the end of this season.’

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