'In the conversation': Journalist makes baffling claim around Bruno Guimaraes and £50m Chelsea man

We all know by now to take any mention of Bruno Guimaraes being sold by Newcastle United this summer with a pinch of salt.

In an ideal world we'd just ignore the claims completely and never write about them again, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I did that and my cat needs new shoes, so here we are.

This time it's not so much the idea of Bruno leaving that's the crux of the story, it's the mental suggestion of who we'd replace him with that got my attention.

Journalist Ben Jacobs made an outrageous claim when speaking on the London Is Blue podcast about where Newcastle may look if they do end up selling Bruno.

Getty Images

Brace yourselves for that which you are about to read

First off, we'll give him credit for not outright suggesting that Bruno Guimaraes will leave this summer, there was a very clear "if" in Jacobs' statement, but the follow-up ... nope.

“We know that Gallagher wants to stay but if the right offer comes Chelsea will accept and then it will be up to Gallagher. We can’t rule out a new deal, but there is still a likelihood that Gallagher is sold. Tottenham are interested, Aston Villa are one to watch and if Newcastle lose Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle will be in the conversation as well.

“The number Chelsea will be looking for will be £50m or more I’m told.”

Gallagher was outstanding at Crystal Palace then ... not so much

As if losing Bruno Guimaraes wouldn't be bad enough, but thinking Conor Gallagher would be an adequate replacement? I nearly threw up in my mouth.

Conor Gallagher is the football equivalent of that movie star that they keep trying to force down our throats until we accept them as A-List - see Jai Courtney/Sam Worthington. You can keep saying it, you can keep calling them up, but it doesn't actually make them good.

Gallagher peaked when on loan at Crystal Palace and since then his Chelsea future has been up in the air despite earning a regular spot under Mauricio Pochettino. Now that he's gone, the question marks are back.

If every new Chelsea manager's first job is to assess whether Gallagher is good enough to stay at the club, then clearly he's not good enough. I mean, Chelsea can keep him, I'd rather he was there than here. He can have his three mint games a season for them.

I still can't believe someone would mention him in the same breath as Bruno Guimaraes though. Shocking.