Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Gallagher gives Chelsea bosses headaches
JUST before kick-off in Chelsea’s London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, the home fans unfurled a giant banner that stretched over both tiers of the Shed End of Stamford Bridge depicting Conor Gallagher and the message: “Chelsea since birth.”
Twenty-four minutes into Thursday night’s Premier League game, the England midfielder repaid the supporters for their tribute, floating a free-kick for Trevoh Chalobah to head home and set Chelsea on their way to a 2-0 win over their fierce city rivals.
The banner, Gallagher’s latest goal involvement and his typical high-energy, tough-tackling performance seemed to send a message to Chelsea’s owners that they should think twice if they really are considering selling him.
The US owners of the club are reportedly interested in capitalising on the “pure profit” value of Gallagher, who, as a product of the club’s youth programme, would help shore up Chelsea’s finances. The club have spent around £1 billion on players since the private equity-led takeover of the west London club two years ago, when Britain’s government forced Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich into a sale.
Now, with a second season about to end trophy-less despite that huge outlay, with the only targets left being qualification for the Europa League or the even less glamorous Europa Conference League next season, Chelsea need to make their sums add up.
Gallagher has been on Chelsea’s books since he was eight, but the 24-year-old’s contract is due to expire at the end of next season, adding to the speculation that the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge might sell him this summer, just as fellow academy graduate Mason Mount was sold to Manchester United last year.
If the decision lay with the fans, Gallagher would be going nowhere. As well as his assist against Spurs on Thursday, Gallagher scored the equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa last Saturday, adding to his case for a starting place in Gareth Southgate’s England team for the European Championship in Germany this summer.
“You can see in my starting 11, I think the whole season he was always there,” Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino said when asked about the importance of Gallagher to the team.