Conor Callagher, Ike Ugbo, ChelseaGetty composite

Premier League sides move to hijack loans for Chelsea starlets Gallagher and Ugbo

Norwich City and Burnley are among the clubs looking to hijack the loan move of Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, who has been a revelation on loan at Charlton Athletic.

Burnley are considering Gallagher after seeing Danny Drinkwater's six-month loan move end, which has since seen him move to Aston Villa.

The 19-year-old is also wanted by Queens Park Rangers, West Brom and Swansea City, but Charlton are hopeful that he will opt to continue his development under Lee Bowyer.

Article continues below

The youngster has earned rave reviews after scoring six and getting three assists in 25 games for the Addicks in his maiden season in senior football. 

Bowyer has previously stated that he is confident Gallagher will remain at the Valley, but it is understood that the Blues could still opt to move him in January.

“I can’t see it. We had Chelsea in last week and they said they are really happy with his progress – he is getting everything they want him to get from a loan," Bowyer said in late December.

“He’s playing all the time and is experiencing winning and losing. He’s experiencing everything you need to learn as a kid. I can’t see them taking him away.”

Similarly, striker Ike Ugbo has garnered interest from clubs in England and in the Netherlands after his impact with Roda JC in the Dutch second division this term.

The youngster has been involved in half of his team's goals with 10 strikes and two assists in 19 games, helping Roda steer clear of the drop zone.

Fortuna Dusseldorf loanee Lewis Baker could also move, having falling out of favour at the Bundesliga club despite his bright start to the season.

Head coach Friedhelm Funkel has accused the loanee of going AWOL after missing his side's last match before the winter break in recent comments to Bild.

"He's in London and supposedly sick, I can't check that. Normally he would have been here. I don't know what the reason is that he isn't here," he said.

"What I do know is that Lewis Baker wasn't in the squad against Union Berlin [before Christmas] and should have trained with the others at 10am. But Baker was simply not there during training. 

"There was no excuse in advance."

Chelsea have already seen Jacob Maddox and Luke McCormick return from unsuccessful loan spells with Tranmere Rovers and Shrewsbury Town. 

Meanwhile, Jamal Blackman has been training at Vitesse's winter break training camp in Portugal and hopes to make his debut soon after a long spell out with a broken leg at his previous club Leeds United.

Advertisement