Frank Lampard has registered his interest in bringing Conor Gallagher to Everton from former club Chelsea, according to TEAMtalk.
The lowdown
Gallagher is currently on loan at Crystal Palace, having previously had spells at Charlton Athletic, Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion.
He’s under contract with The Blues for another three and a half years, and Transfermarkt value him at £19.8million.
Lampard added two midfielders to his ranks on Transfer Deadline Day last month – Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli – but the former is due to return to Manchester United at the end of the season.
The latest
Lampard, planning for his first full season at the helm, has spoken to people at Stamford Bridge about Gallagher, claim TEAMtalk.
He’s let them know that, should the midfielder be available on loan once again, Everton would be very interested.
Chelsea’s current plan is to integrate Gallagher into their first team, but Lampard is trying to place The Toffees at the front of the queue in case that stance changes.
The verdict
It’s absolutely no surprise that Lampard is already making moves for Gallagher in light of his outstanding performances this season.
He leads the Crystal Palace squad for goal involvements with 12 in all competitions (seven goals, five assists) and he’s also second to Tyrick Mitchell for tackles per 90 minutes (2.5).
Gallagher’s manager, Patrick Vieira, has even compared him to Lampard himself in terms of his style of play, though the player insisted he wasn’t at that level just yet.
In other news, the treatment of this Rafa signing has Michael Ball fuming.