Newcastle United will be looking for new additions that can add quality to the squad ahead of their Champions League campaign next season and now a new update has emerged on a potential transfer target.
What's the latest on Newcastle's interest in Conor Gallagher?
According to The Daily Mail, Newcastle are interested in signing Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher this summer.
As per the report, the Magpies have identified a number of targets ahead of the summer transfer window and Gallagher is among several Premier League players that the club's hierarchy are considering.
Would Gallagher be a good signing for Newcastle?
Whilst securing the services of a defensive midfielder should be the highest priority for Newcastle this summer, there is no doubt that Gallagher can offer the club another young, hard-working and explosive player for Eddie Howe to deploy in the centre of the pitch.
The Newcastle boss has unlocked the full potential in his impressive squad this season with a League Cup final at Wembley and Champions League qualification making dreams become a reality for the St James' Park faithful, but now it will be important to keep building and adding quality to find success in the next steps of their journey.
Having strong depth in every position will be hugely advantageous when it comes to competing on the domestic and European stage next season, allowing Howe to rotate with confidence and without compromising on the quality of the performance.
Indeed, Gallagher – dubbed "Kante with goals" by talkSPORT's Tony Cascerino – could be the perfect player to add competition to Joelinton's position with the Brazilian midfielder named as the second most comparable player to the Chelsea talent, as per FBref.
The positional peers have shared a number of similarities in their output this season including shots on target rate (39.3% v 37.3%), pass completion rate (81.1% v 81.6%), shot-creating actions per 90 (2.61 v 2.71) and successful take-ons (42.6% v 47.7%).
Due to the fact that Joelinton often drops into the left-wing role, Gallagher – who has a reported price tag of £44m – could even find himself playing alongside the Newcastle talisman and if they could form a good connection on the pitch together by doubling up on their similar attacking attributes, it could cause chaos for opponents.
With that being said, the signing of Gallagher would be a great way to bolster one of the most important positions in Howe's successful team and would give the manager a player he can trust to rotate into the team next season when competing in multiple competitions.