Conor Gallagher shows his footballing and emotional value to Chelsea. They have to keep him.
Debate about Gallagher's future reflects wider PSR issues and the role of academies.
It was an evening of messages at Stamford Bridge. Moments before kick-off against Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea fans in the Shed sent a message to their owners with a huge tifo of Conor Gallagher emblazoned with “Chelsea Since Birth”. They depicted Gallagher with the captain’s armband, the heartbeat as well as dynamo of the side. In an era when some Chelsea fans fear being disenfranchised by their club, Gallagher represents a link to the past when one of their own, John Terry, led them, and hope for the future.
Gallagher is not a leader in Terry’s mould, neither is the 24-year-old a midfield player who bears comparison to Terry’s team-mate, Frank Lampard, nor more recent European champions like N’Golo Kante. What Gallagher brings is energy, pressing, commitment and occasional expressions of fine technique, such as his superb goal against Aston Villa last Saturday, control with his right foot, curling 20-yard finish with his left. His free-kick delivery picked out Trevoh Chalobah for Chelsea’s first against Spurs.
