Newcastle United make £40m-rated Conor Gallagher the club’s ‘No.1 transfer target’ as Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel refuses to rule out selling England star

Newcastle United are eyeing a swoop for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher with just under three weeks until the transfer window.

The Magpies still have their sights set on signing Leicester City midfielder James Maddison, but the Foxes are determined to hold on to their prized asset and have no intention of selling.

According to The Sun, Newcastle will now step up their efforts to sign Gallagher despite Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admitting he is a “huge fan” of the star.

But, the German manager admitted every player has their price, the Gallagher believed to be valued at £40m, while accepting the daunting challenge he faces to retain a place in the Blues’ starting XI.

The Chelsea head coach said: “Generally nobody is for sale and everyone is for sale.

“It depends on what the player wants, how badly the player wants it, what we think, who is willing to pay a certain amount of money.

“So maybe everyone is for sale.”

Tuchel continued: “Conor is struggling in central midfield. To be very honest, it’s a tough fight for him because at the moment, it seems, we only have two places in central midfield, which is a bit unfair considering the number of players we have. we have for central midfield.

“I’m a big fan of Conor. Above all, he’s a fantastic guy.

“In addition, he has huge competition with N’Golo [Kante]Jorgi [Jorginho] and Kova [Mateo Kovacic]who are used to playing with each other.

Gallagher was in superb form on loan at Crystal Palace last season, earning him a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad, but Eagles boss Patrick Vieira was unable to secure the 22-year-old for a further 12 months.

Competition for places could become even fiercer for Gallagher if Chelsea pursue Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

The Blues are still in the hunt to sign the 25-year-old despite interest from Manchester United.

De Jong’s preference is to stay at the Nou Camp but the Catalan Giants could opt to ship the Dutchman as the club need to raise funds to balance the books.

Should the former Ajax player leave Barcelona this summer, he would favor a move to Stamford Bridge rather than Old Trafford.