Nottingham Forest and Swansea City have made approaches to take Southampton forward Sam Gallagher on loan, according to Sun journalist Alan Nixon.
The reliable journalist claims that Forest and Championship rivals Swansea have both made surprise loan requests for the 23-year-old attacker and that leaves the Premier League side with a bit of a dilemma.
Nixon reports that the Saints are trying to move Charlie Austin out of the club rather than Gallagher, who earns £40,000-a-week (Spotrac), at this time.
SOUTHAMPTON. Bit of a dilemma. Trying to move out Austin. Meanwhile FOREST and SWANSEA make surprise loan requests for Gallagher.
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) January 30, 2019
“SOUTHAMPTON. Bit of a dilemma. Trying to move out Austin. Meanwhile FOREST and SWANSEA make surprise loan requests for Gallagher,” tweeted Nixon on his personal Twitter account.
Good move for Forest?
Yes, Gallagher has the potential to make a difference at the Forest ground if recruited.
The 23-year-old forward could be a target man upfront for Forest and will no doubt be eager to be amongst the goals in the second half of the season, given he hasn’t had many opportunities to impress at Southampton this season.
Gallagher has only featured three times for the Saints across all competitions so far and given his age, he needs regular playing time in order to continue his promising development.
Also Gallagher does have plenty of Championship experience, he has played 89 times in England’s second-tier, after having loan spells at Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers and MK Dons so should be able to hit the ground running if signed.
This Is Futbol rating: 7/10
Likely to happen?
It doesn’t look nailed on to say the least.
Southampton will no doubt prefer to keep some cover for their attacking options and if Austin goes then it’s hard to see them lending out Gallagher to anyone.
Then there’s the fact that Forest clearly aren’t alone in their pursuit of the forward as Swansea City have also requested the attacker’s services, so even if he moves, he might end up with the Swans instead of at the Forest ground.
However with time ticking down to get a deal done, perhaps a respectable suitor won’t come through for Austin and that will pave the way for Gallagher to potentially be a Swansea City or Nottingham Forest player in the second half of the season.
This Is Futbol rating: 5/10