A Premier League campaign is a long and winding road, often punctuated with hiccups and setbacks, and while Tottenham Hotspur have enjoyed the highs and endured the lows under Ange Postecoglou, there is optimism that a successful finish is on the cards.
Fifth-placed during the final international break of the term – three points behind Aston Villa in the top four and with a game in hand – Spurs are confident despite being thumped 3-0 by Fulham last time out.
Inconsistency has been prominent in Postecoglou's list of concerns this term, and preparing for next season, chairman Daniel Levy appears to have drawn up plans to sign a former top target to mitigate this issue.
Spurs lining up Premier League midfielder
Tottenham still haven't directly replaced Harry Kane after the club record scorer's transfer to Bayern Munich last August but it's been clear throughout Postecoglou's reign thus far that he is desperate to land another player in the engine room, with Chelsea's Conor Gallagher of a vested interest across the past two transfer windows.
Levy failed with a £40m approach in the summer window's transfer deadline but returned once again in January, fruitless once again with Mauricio Pochettino viewing the England international as a key part of the Blues project.
Third time lucky? According to Football Insider, Tottenham are set to make a low-ball £30m-£40m bid for Gallagher after the end of the campaign, with Chelsea in need of funds to fund their lucrative summer transfer plans.
Gallagher is out of contract in 2025 and it might be that a deal is now doable. Chelsea might live to rue their former rejections.
Conor Gallagher's season in numbers
On the pitch Gallagher has been a reliable member of Pochettino's squad this season, having chalked up four goals and seven assists across 38 matches in all competitions.
In the Premier League, Chelsea might be 11th but there have been signs of promise and Gallagher has been vital in pumping industriousness and poise in the centre.
As per Sofascore, the 24-year-old has started 26 Premier League matches, technically placed in the attacking point of the midfield trio but covering remarkable stretches of ground and proving himself to be a sublime multi-faceted player.
Racking up five assists, Gallagher has been Chelsea's chief source of creativity in the top-flight, crisp as they come with a 91% pass success rate and impressive through his average of 1.5 key passes, 2.6 tackles, 6.3 ball recoveries and 5.7 successful duels per game.
Joao Palhinha
Fulham
110
Vinicius Souza
Sheffield United
105
Joao Gomes
Wolverhampton Wanderers
83
Christian Nørgaard
Brentford
73
Conor Gallagher
Chelsea
68
It's this range of qualities that would make him such a worthy investment at Tottenham, and while he would effectively slot into the position occupied by James Maddison, Gallagher boasts a differing, perhaps more dynamic skill set.
Maddison has been something of a revelation down in N17 and provides Postecoglou's squad with fluency in attacking sequences that haven't been produced at such a level since the days of Christian Eriksen, at his best.
To evidence this, Maddison has racked up seven assists from just 18 Premier League matches, averaging a whopping 2.5 key passes per game. No one does it like him at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Why Conor Gallagher could be Maddison's foil
Maddison is an elite playmaker and he has demonstrated as such with constancy on the pitch since signing from relegated Leicester City in a £40m transfer last summer, but he's not a master of all trades and has been culpable for a couple of bad showings.
Every player has a bad day, but sometimes teams and managers need to recognise their players' strengths and sculpt their lineup accordingly, with Maddison nullified during a tough afternoon at Craven Cottage.
Football.london's Alasdair Gold branded the Three Lions man with a 3/10 match rating and wrote that he suffered 'a very quiet performance and the entire ineffective midfield was taken off after the third Fulham goal.' He wasn't the sole issue, but his inefficiency would have given Postecoglou food for thought.
What Spurs might have needed was a tad more mettle, a little bit more combativeness ahead of holding midfielder Yves Bissouma to balance out a trio up against tough-tackling Joao Palhinha.
Gallagher has proved time and time again this season that he brings such a skill set. As per FBref, the Cobham graduate ranks among the top 20% of centre-midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, the top 18% for tackles and the top 8% for blocks to complement his attacking prowess.
Maddison's countryman has been described as a "pressing and transition monster" by one keen analyst and this illuminates the style that would be so fitting within Postecoglou's tactical set-up.
His seven goal contributions in the Premier League this term highlight how he can make a difference across different areas of the pitch, and having featured regularly in front of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, he's already positionally attuned to a role similar to Maddison's.
The Athletic's Liam Twomey has also praised the "balance and chemistry" that Gallagher inculcates into the Chelsea midfield.
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He's a player that Tottenham have done their homework on, and while Chelsea have largely flattered to deceive once again this season, he has been a dependable and effective star in the centre of the Stamford Bridge pitch.
Should Tottenham take their interest to the next level? It doesn't seem like a bad idea, especially given that Postecoglou's team have put such concerted efforts into securing his signature for some time.
