Chelsea’s £50m demands have put them in an awkward place over fan favourite | OneFootball

The Euros are over, and now attention turns back to the transfer market. One player who looked consistently close to leaving Chelsea was Conor Gallagher, and his future will once again become the centre of attention once he returns from Germany.

The Athletic’s transfer update tells us that Chelsea are “preparing for potential suitors to show their hands,” but it doesn’t look great. Aston Villa’s admiration is “highly unlikely to lead to lead ot an approach,” while Tottenham are “interested,” but with Chelsea apparently valuing Gallagher “in the region of £40m to £50m” we’re not sure even they will get serious.

Chelsea’s sporting directors have boxed themselves in a bit – unwilling to lower their asking price, unwilling to offer Gallagher a new contract he will accept, but unwilling to let him walk away for free in a year’s time.

Conor Gallagher trains with England at Euro 2024.

One easy way out – if the sporting directors are willing to see it

Now many Chelsea fans won’t be unhappy to hear that this is the situation. They’re desperate for Conor to stay and aren’t so interested in what the board’s balance sheet says.

Ultimately the best solution for everyone is that Gallagher signs a new deal. Even if the intention is to sell him, that guarantees a better price down the line. All the myths that floated around that it was totally necessary to dump him off for “pure profit” have been debunked – we’ve clearly got enough liquidity as it stands, and there are plenty more home grown players who can be sold in the next 12 months.

Rather than hawking a much loved home grown important first team player around all summer to our big rivals, why not just sit down and arrange a long contract, and bring this whole tedious affair to a close?