'Ten times better than Enzo' - Former Chelsea midfielder Gallagher shines for Atletico

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 16 Sept 2024 07:34 BST
• 4 min read

Former Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher scored his first Atletico Madrid goal in their 3-0 La Liga victory over Valencia on Sunday.

The 24-year-old left Stamford Bridge in August, bringing an end to 18 years with the Blues.

In his first full home debut at Metropolitano Stadium, Gallagher was slipped through one-on-one with the goalkeeper following a slick pass from Argentina international Rodrigo de Paul.

READ MORE: How a former Chelsea star's court case could KILL the transfer market

Gallagher cooly slotted the ball into the net as Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez capped off the win for Atletico.

The England international left Chelsea as his sale would count as pure profit, but it was also partly because Enzo Maresca didn’t believe that the player would suit his possession-based blueprint.

Gallagher stated at the time: "I don’t think that’s true personally. I think last season I had a good season with Chelsea as you could see by Mauricio Pochettino playing me every game and showing his trust in me. And the fans appreciated what I did on the pitch too."

Chelsea have had a relatively decent start to life this season, but some of their biggest transfers are still playing below what their fee warranted of them. Enzo Fernandez has been playing in a deeper position but still has not provided a goal contribution this term.

Gallagher is 10 times the player Enzo will ever be for Chelsea

— :) (@Topazicky) September 16, 2024

I still don’t understand why we sold Connor Gallagher,
What a goal. Enzo can never score this goal.

I blame our sporting director

— TUCHELIBAN (@caz_smors) September 15, 2024

Current ETV

Conor Gallagher

M, DM (C)

Atlético

Conor Gallagher

M, DM (C)

Atlético

€60M

ETV Range

€45M - €75M

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Gallagher enjoying life in Spain

After the game against Valencia, Atletico head coach Diego Simeone sang the praises of Englishman Gallagher: “He is a hardworking player, with quality, a good presence, recovers balls, and always gives his maximum in every situation," he said.

"He came with a lot of enthusiasm, and we need that kind of player in the midfield because he makes us better.”

Gallagher is certainly a different breed of player from Fernandez but, unquestionably, he has far more tenacity than the World Cup winner. Though he was sold for pure profit reasons, it could be argued that a sale would not have been sanctioned had Fernandez been brought in from Benfica for a staggering €120 million.

The Chelsea man - who was at the heart of a racism controversy in the summer - might go on to continue his streak of fine-to-decent displays for the Premier League club, but for such a price you would expect the best in class, and he clearly is not.