Patrick Vieira has responded to claims that Crystal Palace tabled a bid for Conor Gallagher. The 22-year-old midfielder has been heavily linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge following an impressive loan spell at Selhurst Park last season.
Gallagher, who sees his contract with the Blues expire in 2025, featured 34 times for the Eagles, directly contributing to 11 goals. His impressive displays steered Palace within touching distance of a top-ten finish, while also catching the attention of Thomas Tuchel in the meantime.
Gallagher has started twice for the west Londoners this season as a result, though he's yet to reproduce the rich form he enjoyed under Vieira. After an element of doubt was cast over his future at Chelsea following a red card against Leicester City and with the transfer window deadline approaching, Palace reportedly tabled a bid for the Cobham graduate.
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According to The Times, the eagles' opening bid of £27million was to test the waters. In a pre-match press conference ahead of Palace's clash with Brentford, Vieira was questioned on the matter though he was reluctant to comment.
"Are you sure? The way that you’re talking is as if the £27million was on the table," the Palace boss laughed when asked about the reported bid. "Listen, again, it’s difficult to talk about players who are in another football club.
"You mention Conor, Conor is a Chelsea player," Vieira added. "Until Chelsea say otherwise there’s no point for us to think about what it may not be possible to do.
"We have people around who are working on trying to improve the squad because like I always said, we are short of numbers. We need players and we will try to bring those players, and if not, I am happy with the players we have."
Regardless of whether Gallagher completes a move, he won't feature for Chelsea again until the summer window slams shut. The midfielder's suspension means that he will miss the Blues' clash with Southampton on August 30.
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