Tottenham face wait until summer transfer window to land Conor Gallagher from Chelsea – Paper Round

Tottenham may now have to wait until the summer to sign Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher.

“Conor Gallagher is now ‘unlikely’ to leave Chelsea this month – but Tottenham will not give up on signing the player,” the paper writes.

“SunSport has learned that Mauricio Pochettino has made clear that selling Gallagher, 23, this month would be a mistake.

“It means Spurs are unlikely to get their wish of a January transfer switch but they will come back in for him over the summer.

“Our source said: ‘Tottenham want to sign Conor, but there’s a massive timing issue at play.

“’Chelsea had been open-minded to letting the player go a couple of months ago and Spurs thought the deal was in place.

“‘But in recent weeks Conor has become of vital importance to the team and the manager thinks letting him go now could lead to major problems in the second half of the season.’”

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery will need to sell players if he wants to bring in new faces in the January transfer window.

Calum Chambers and Bertrand Traore could reportedly leave, and the Mail also mentions Jhon Duran and Leander Dendoncker as two others who may be sold.

“Boss Unai Emery has not ruled out strengthening his squad this winter but accepts Villa must sell first and that they also have an eye on Financial Fair Play regulations.

“’Chambers and Traore can go and if that happens, we can think about adding one or two players to the squad – but we are not focused on a particular player,’ said Emery, whose side can move level on points with Premier League leaders Liverpool if they win at Everton on Sunday.

“Emery is also reluctant to allow midfielder Leander Dendoncker to leave on a temporary basis, even though there are loan offers for the Belgium international, though he still may be sold in this window.

“Villa are open to letting forward Jhon Duran, who does not see eye to eye with Emery, move on loan but only if they are certain they can replace him, with back-up needed for Ollie Watkins.”

Jordan Henderson will soon tell Al-Ettifaq he wishes to leave the club, with Ajax a potential destination, it has been claimed.

The midfielder is hoping to keep his place in the England squad for the Euro 2024 tournament this summer.

“The 33-year-old is desperate to return to European football, ideally the Premier League, after being disillusioned with life in the Gulf state.

“Showdown talks with current club Al-Ettifaq are set for Sunday, when the former Liverpool captain is expected to tell manager Steven Gerrard and director of football development Mark Allen of his desire to leave after struggling to settle in the Middle East.

“Henderson has not tasted victory in a Saudi Pro League match in over two months and does not play again until mid-February. He believes failing to leave in January could cost him his England place at the Euros this summer. Ajax believe Henderson would be a fine addition for the remainder of the season, with Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen also monitoring the situation.”

Radu Dragusin’s representative Florin Manea is already looking to the future for his client, who joined Tottenham from Genoa this week.

The Mirror notes that Manea wants him to be at Real Madrid in a few years.

“The defender arrived in north London from Serie A outfit Genoa for an initial £21.5million, plus add-ons. Dragusin put pen to paper on a six-and-a-half-year deal which will, in theory, keep him at Tottenham until 2030.

“But his representative, Florin Manea, was left stunned that his client had chosen Spurs over a move to Bayern Munich. And he is already making clear that he believes a move to Spanish titans Real Madrid is on the cards in the future.”

The agent said: “We were close, Bayern is among the biggest clubs, but his dream is Real or Barcelona. If he was 23-24 years old and had more experience, maybe he would have decided to go to Bayern, but I also took into account the age, and the competition, I took into account many things.

“In three or four years I see him at Real Madrid.”