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Dean Jones and Greame Bailey have been discussing the reasons why Conor Gallagher decided to join Tottenham and whether he would have been better off at Aston Villa.
Gallagher has admitted that he is over the moon to be a Spurs player and expressed his desire to achieve big things at N17.
The transfer happened at whirlwind speed, with Tottenham securing the midfielder from under Aston Villa’s noses after the Villans had reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid.
Some pundits have opined that Gallagher would have been better off at Villa, given the contrasting fortunes of Unai Emery’s side and Thomas Frank’s men this season.
Journalist claims Conor Gallagher definitely improves Tottenham
Graeme Bailey and Dean Jones discussed the Gallagher transfer saga on TEAMtalk’s latest Facebook live broadcast, and the journalists were both in agreement that the England international improves the current Spurs side.
Jones confessed that he did not think Tottenham would be able to hijack the deal, while Bailey suggested that a switch to Villa Park may have been better for the midfielder’s prospects of getting back into the England squad.
Jones said about the Gallagher deal: “Aston Villa had definitely started to get ahead on that one. When I reported the Gallagher story to Tottenham, I wasn’t convinced they were going to win the race, to be honest with you. But I think they couldn’t really face losing out on another one. There is going to be more to come.”
Bailey responded: “I like Conor Gallagher as a player. I think it’s a good signing, whoever got him. I’m slightly surprised Manchester United didn’t make a bigger push for him. With Thomas Frank and his system, we don’t know what he’s going to play. He doesn’t know what his best XI is. He clearly thinks there’s space for him. It’s clearly not going to be a #6, because he’s got Palhinha in there.
“Is it going to impact on Bergvall and Archie Gray going forward, especially in the short term? Possibly, but he’s a class act, he improves Tottenham’s XI – not massively, but I do think he improves the XI. In terms of him rebuilding his England career and getting in the World Cup squad, I think he’d have been better off choosing Villa at this moment in time. I think he would have had a better chance feeding Morgan Rogers for the rest of the season.”
Finances may have played a part in Gallagher choosing Spurs
Jones claimed Tottenham not only paid a big transfer fee for the 25-year-old, but they may have also offered much better wages to the midfielder than Villa.
Additionally, he suggested that Gallagher’s keenness to return to London may have played a part in the former Chelsea man’s decision.
Jones added: “Do you think it’s about money, because Tottenham have had to pay £35m for Conor Gallagher. I don’t know exactly what the wage sums are, but I know that the contract at Atletico Madrid was a big one; if he’d have met his bonuses (which, to be fair, he probably didn’t do) it’d have been worth about £200,000-a-week.
“Spurs are making a big outlay here. I know the financial terms weren’t going to be met by Aston Villa, theirs was more of a sporting project sell. Obviously, on top of that, Conor Gallagher is from Surrey, was playing for Chelsea his whole life, his family are all Chelsea fans, so it’ll be interesting to see what they make of his transfer to Tottenham.
“But maybe the finances come into it. Tottenham fans don’t seem to be wholly convinced that Conor Gallagher is necessarily the answer. Conor Gallagher brings a lot of energy, he’ll press high, he’s very technically astute, he’ll follow instructions well and he’s Premier League proven. I think Conor Gallagher is a good signing for Tottenham, but they need to do more.”
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