Chelsea cannot afford to lose Gallagher and Gilmour to Everton

James Shearman

• Updated: 5 Jun 2022 14:16 BST
• 3 min read

Everton boss Frank Lampard is interested in signing Conor Gallagher and Billy Gilmour from former club Chelsea.

Gallagher excelled on loan at Crystal Palace, scoring eight goals and earning a nomination for the Premier League Young Player of the Season award.

Lampard is looking to use his relationship with Chelsea to lure the midfielder to Goodison Park, according to talkSPORT.

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As for Gilmour, he struggled this season at 20th place Norwich City, whose fans even called for his loan to be terminated.

Although, it is he who has previous experience of playing at Stamford Bridge - earning multiple man of the match awards in the 2020-21 season too.

The 20-year-old is also on Everton's transfer target list, according to the Daily Star.

Now, while there is a chance that both could be a part of the Blues squad next season, only one of them can realistically earn regular minutes.

Chelsea cannot afford to lose Gallagher and Gilmour

Given the depth of Chelsea's squad, breaking into the first-team picture will be a struggle for both Gallagher and Gilmour.

N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are all on the books for next season in the central midfield position.

One positive for Gallagher, however, is that the member of that quartet that he is most similar to (Kante) is also the most injury prone and has shown signs of declination.

So, there is a real possibility that he is molded into the next version of the Frenchman in the 2022-23 season and then takes over the role completely after that.

As for Gilmour, he is already in the mold of one of Chelsea's key players - Jorginho.

This would make the Scotsman's transition into the team much easier, given Tuchel could slot him into an existing role immediately.

So, Gilmour could either rotate with Jorginho or replace him, should he leave for Juventus - which has been rumoured.

That said, Gallagher's loan at Palace has been so impressive that he has to be part of the German boss' plans.

His work rate and intensity is something that Tuchel will love, as he does already with two-time Player of the Season Mason Mount.

But, whoever comes out on top, one thing that is for sure is that at least one of them should be in next season's squad.