Chelsea could lose 'priceless' player for £30m unless Todd Boehly acts fast

Chelsea are at risk of losing Conor Gallagher for way less than his price tag as Tottenham reportedly ready a summer swoop for the midfielder. Spurs have long held interest in Gallagher but baulked at the £50million fee they were quoted a few months ago.

The Chelsea academy graduate has been a Premier League regular for the last four seasons including successful loans at West Brom and Crystal Palace. The 24-year-old has played in 23 of the Blues' 24 league matches this season, captaining the team in 12 of them.

Gallagher scored two crucial goals as the Londoners came from behind at Crystal Palace on Monday night, just days after netting in an FA Cup fourth-round replay victory away at Aston Villa. But his contract at Stamford Bridge runs out in July 2025 and there has been no progress in talks to renew his deal.

Chelsea's hierarchy remain open to selling the 11-cap England international to help comply with strict financial regulations. They accepted bids from Everton 18 months ago and he was also made available last summer though no one made any offers due to his valuation.

It appears Gallagher might now depart this summer - despite his manager Mauricio Pochettino repeatedly making it known he'd rather keep the player. And Gallagher himself wants to stay.

Pochettino said after the win at Palace: "I think he's a player with a great commitment to the team, always trying to compensate every single offensive and defensive situation. It's priceless to have a player like him. I'm so happy for him.

"What he told me was he wants to stay at Chelsea. But then it's about him and the club [to find an agreement]. I'm not suffering with this type of thing; he still has one year more on his contract. I think that it's a matter for him and the club."

Spurs walked away from a potential £50m deal last summer but are now ready to make their move later this year if a contract compromise has not been reached by then, per Telegraph Sport. Ange Postecoglou is said to believe the Englishman could be the ideal fit for his midfield.

And an unnamed sporting director is quoted by the Telegraph as saying: "With a year remaining on his contract, clubs will value Gallagher at around £30million to £35million, which is a lot less than Chelsea will feel he is worth.

"Given he has captained Chelsea, has been one of their best players this season and is an England international, then he is worth around £150,000-a-week. That potentially puts Chelsea in a nightmare position.

"They might have to pay Gallagher around £150,000-a-week, which from the outside looks like more than they want to pay players, to agree a new contract with him or sell him to a club they would rather not do business for less than they had previously hoped to get for him."

No player has started more games under Pochettino than Gallagher, whose stance on his future is clear - he wants it to be at the Bridge. Chelsea will hope to build on their back-to-back wins over Villa and Palace when they face treble winners Manchester City at the Etihad this Saturday (5.30pm kick-off).