‘Are you sure?’ – Palace boss reacts to speculation of £27m bid for Chelsea midfielder Gallagher

Patrick Vieira has responded to reports that Crystal Palace have submitted a £27million bid to Chelsea to sign Conor Gallagher on a permanent deal.

Gallagher spent last season on loan at Selhurst Park, scoring eight goals and registering three assists as the Eagles finished 12th in the Premier League and reached the FA Cup semi-final.

The 22-year-old midfielder also became an England international during his time with Palace making his debut in the 10-0 win against San Marino last November.

Gallagher, who picked up the club’s Player of the Season award last season, has featured four times under Thomas Tuchel this season.

He has only started twice in the Premier League under the German manager and was sent off during Saturday’s 2-1 win against Leicester City after 28 minutes.

The Times reported on Monday morning that the South Londoners had lodged a £27million bid for Gallagher.

“Are you sure?” joked the Palace boss. “It’s difficult to talk about players who are not at the club.

“Conor is a Chelsea player. Until Chelsea says otherwise, there is no point for us to think about what it may not be possible to do.

“We have people working on trying to improve the squad because we are short on – we need players, and we will try to bring those players.

“If not, I am really happy with the players we have. We will work, and we will try to win football matches.

“We have definitely spoken about the profile of players that we want – they [sporting director Dougie Freedman and chairman Steve Parish] have all the information. They will try to do it, and I will concentrate on the games coming up.

“We have a clear idea about the profile of players we want to bring to the football club, and we will do our best to do it. If we manage to do it, it will be good.

“If not, I believe we have enough quality to compete week in and week out. We just have to wait and see what will happen.”