Moyes could form "unreal" duo as West Ham eye late bid for £50k-p/w "pressing machine" - opinion

West Ham United are interested in a late move for Conor Gallagher in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Alex Crook, with the journalist revealing in his latest column for talkSPORT that David Moyes is now considering launching a last-gasp swoop for the Chelsea midfielder, while Crystal Palace and Newcastle United are also believed to be keen on a move for the 22-year-old prior to tomorrow’s transfer deadline.

However, according to Fabrizio Romano, it is Everton who are currently leading the race for the England international, with the transfer insider revealing in a post on Twitter that the Toffees have now submitted a bid totalling £45m for the midfielder – with the Blues undecided as to whether or not they will accept the proposal at present.

In his tweet, the Italian journalist said: “Everton have submitted a bid to sign Conor Gallagher from Chelsea. It’s £40m proposal plus £5m add-ons. Chelsea will make a decision soon as there are also other clubs interested in Gallagher – and player has to decide his future too.”

Imagine him & Rice

While it is true that Gallagher has struggled to hold down a regular place in the Chelsea XI so far this season – starting just nine of his 18 Premier League appearances in 2022/23 – considering just how impressive the midfielder was during a season-long loan spell at Palace last time out, the argument that Moyes simply must launch a bid for the 22-year-old is an easy one to make.

Indeed, over his 34 top-flight fixtures for the Eagles last season, the £38.5m-rated talent was in sensational form going forwards, scoring eight goals, registering three assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 1.5 shots, making 1.1 key passes and completing 1.3 dribbles – at a success rate of 57% – per game.

The £50k-per-week engine also caught the eye in more workmanlike metrics, making an average of 2.0 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and winning 5.9 duels – at a success rate of 47% – per match, as well as enjoying an average of 51.6 touches, finding his man with 1.4 long balls and completing 25.1 total passes – at a success rate of 81% – per fixture.

These returns saw the four-cap international who Mark Duffy dubbed both “unreal” and a “pressing machine” average a simply sensational Sofascore statistical rating of 7.08, ranking him as Palace’s best performer in the league last time out.

Rather unsurprisingly, the 22-year-old’s displays in south London saw him earn a considerable amount of praise, with former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel stating of the midfielder last April:

“His development is extraordinary and outstanding. He is one of the key players at Crystal Palace and he has made a huge step in his development. He was a pleasure to coach in pre-season – he has so much positive energy, so much energy in general and so much work rate to give that he can of course be a big help and a big influence.”

As such, with Declan Rice arguably being the sole West Ham midfielder to have enjoyed a solid campaign so far in 2022/23, it is clear to see that adding a player with the talent of Gallagher would provide the Hammers captain with an unreal partner in the middle of the park.

Indeed, the Chelsea ace’s aforementioned attacking prowess would appear to be the perfect tonic to Rice’s more defensive game with the pairing possessing the ability to be a match in heaven.

As such, Moyes simply must match Everton’s offer for the Chelsea starlet this month.

Source

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