Declan Rice’s hopes of joining Chelsea are now in jeopardy after Thomas Tuchel decided to integrate Conor Gallagher into the club’s first-team next campaign.
The 22-year-old is currently on a season-long loan at Crystal Palace and the Eagles would love to sign him permanently, with Patrick Vieira making the playmaker a key part of his starting lineup.
Gallagher has already scored seven goals in 24 games for Palace and he’s enjoying his time at Selhurst Park, after growing frustrated with a lack of chances at Stamford Bridge.
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Tuchel has identified central midfield as an area of priority this summer window and Roman Abramovich will allocate significant funds for the German coach to invest.
The Blues had been expected to battle Manchester United for the signature of West Ham star Declan Rice, with the England international keen on returning to his boyhood club.
But the Evening Standard claim that Rice’s hopes are now in peril as Tuchel plans on blocking Gallagher from leaving the club as he wants to give him chances to prove himself in the club’s first-team.
Chelsea’s midfield options are already extensive, with players like Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ross Barkley and Saul Niguez struggling for game time.
Rice is unwilling to give up his status at West Ham to become a rotational player at another team and he knows he’d be a regular at Old Trafford, where central midfield is the club’s weakest area.
But, Chelsea’s stance could change if Jorginho, N’Golo Kante or Mateo Kovacic push to leave but the Blues do not envisage that being the case, though Jorginho has conceded in the past he plans on returning to Italy at some stage.
Gallagher’s preference has always been to become a Chelsea regular but he’ll return if he sees a pathway into the first-team and that would be unlikely if Chelsea push ahead with a move for RIce.
