Summary West Ham are looking at players who could replace Lucas Paqueta if he joins Manchester City. A £50m Premier League star could arrive at the London Stadium as a result. The target in question actually outperformed Paqueta in various areas.
West Ham United have already kicked off their Premier League campaign but are still looking for new additions to bolster the squad, and now a fresh update has emerged on a potential transfer target.
What's the latest West Ham transfer news?
According to Chelsea writer and transfer insider Simon Phillips, West Ham are interested in signing England star Conor Gallagher this summer.
In an update on his SubStack subscription platform, Phillips revealed:
'Gallagher is almost certain to leave the club if both Caicedo and Lavia arrive, and even if it’s just Caicedo.
'I know that Tottenham are still keen, and Gallagher would certainly be more than open to returning to Crystal Palace – he really enjoyed it there.
'But I’m also told that he could go to West Ham this window, and that is probably the one to watch most right now. I’d be very surprised if Gallagher is still a Chelsea player come the end of this month.'
Will Lucas Paqueta leave West Ham?
Despite already sanctioning the sales of Ginaluca Scamacca and Declan Rice this summer, David Moyes may find himself having to agree to another outgoing with Manchester City keen on snapping up the services of Lucas Paqueta.
The Premier League champions had already submitted an offer for Paqueta before their campaign kicked off on Friday evening, but now that Kevin De Bruyne has suffered an injury, it is reported that the treble-winners will push the Hammers harder for the acquisition of their attacking midfielder.
As a result, the signing of Gallagher would present an opportunity to get ahead in replacing the potentially departing Paqueta, to provide Moyes with the perfect profile of midfielder to succeed him and could even improve the presence in the centre of the pitch in the process.
The Chelsea ace earned a starting spot at Stamford Bridge after lighting up the Premier League with his talent during a season-long loan with Crystal Palace in the previous campaign, but with Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo top targets for the Blues it is looking like his role in the team could be limited.
When comparing Gallagher's output with Paqueta's last season, the England international actually comfortably outperformed his West Ham positional peer in a number of key attributes including shots on target rate (39.3% v 26.3%), pass completion (81.1% v 79.3%), progressive carries per 90 (2.16 v 1.08), progressive passes received per 90 (6.09 v 2.83) and interceptions per 90 (1.31 v 0.66).
Not only that, Gallagher – once hailed for his "extraordinary" development by Thomas Tuchel – is incredibly versatile and has the diverse range of skills to comfortably perform in a number of midfield roles.
Indeed, he boasts a wealth of experience in the central, attacking and defensive roles, which would make him a major asset following the departure of Rice too.
It has been reported that Chelsea have already rejected a £40m bid from the Hammers for the Cobham academy graduate, with £50m reportedly a more realistic price. However, West Ham should have no trouble matching that valuation following the £105m sale of Rice and a potential incoming fee of €81m (£70m) for Paqueta.
With that being said, it would be a no-brainer for West Ham to secure a deal for Gallagher whether they lose Paqueta this summer or not, as he has the skillset to offer Moyes crucial depth in a number of positions and the quality to improve the centre of the pitch.