Gallagher purportedly wants a club who are in Europe if Chelsea tell him he's not part of their future plans. Whilst they were not willing to sell him to Newcastle this last window, that doesn't mean they won't sell him to a rival in the summer.

Also given the transfer work that needs to be done in the summer to continue the refreshing of the squad, then, like Neillo, I don't see us spending that kind of money on one player.

Much depends on what happens on the ownership front between now and the summer, of course (and how much money, if any, has been put aside for the new stand).

Finally, there is the question of how our new midfield options work out and whether Arsenal want Sambi Lokonga back. I think he cost them about Euros 17m.

Edited by doombear (01 Feb 2023 12.40pm)

Don't think we will get him in the summer either

Transfers represent risk, and the perfect transfer involves mitigating that risk to the maximum extent. Conor, even at £40 million, comes with an insurance policy:

1. We know he has a brilliant relationship with Vieira
2. We know he has a brilliant relationship with our supporters
3. We know he fits into the team tactically
4. We know how well he's capable of performing
5. We know (I presume) that he's well-liked within our squad
6. We, if he did come, he'd want to be here
7. We know he's a good ambassador for the club

All of the above dramatically mitigate risk and make Conor at, say, £40 million a much, a much safer bet than someone from Milan who's never played in the PL and will be new to league, language, and country at, say, £30 million. With Conor, there's almost no downside to signing him unless the price is really, really stupid.

Agreed . When you put it like that its a no brainer .

Probably a silly question, but what is the source of the suggested £40m?

Everton (widely reported) bid £40-£45 million on deadline day and Chelsea accepted it. But Conor had no interest in going to Everton. Then, the Fernandez deal became tied up in details and didn't happen until the last minute, so sending Conor out on loan elsewhere, which might have happened had Fernandez been resolved earlier in the day, was off the table.

But deadline day did serve to fix two things. 1. Conor's price. The mark has been set at £40-£45 million. 2. Chelsea is - unless something changes dramatically between now and June - willing to sell. So come the summer window opening, if nothing has changed, you'd expect a Conor deal (to Palace or anyone else) to happen very quickly because all the barriers have now been removed. Price known. Chelsea's willingness to sell established (assuming nothing changes).

Edited by sydtheeagle (02 Feb 2023 1.06pm)