Chelsea must fend off Juve and Inter interest in Gallagher
Robin Bairner
- 21 Mar 2022 19:27 GMT
- 3 min read
Chelsea midfielder Connor Gallagher finds himself as a summer transfer target for Serie A giants Juventus and Inter.
On loan at Crystal Palace this season, the 22-year-old Gallagher has enjoyed a breakout season at Selhurst Park, where he has played 25 Premier League matches, scoring eight goals and creating three more.
The Blues have made a habit of offloading successful young loan stars in the past only to regret their decision. Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Mohamed Salah are three of the most notable examples and they cannot afford to let Gallagher join that group.
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How serious is the interest?
Sky Sports reports that Gallagher was watched playing for Palace in their scoreless draw against Manchester City last Monday.
The extent of the interest of the two Serie A clubs does not appear to go any further than that presently, but it should nevertheless be a warning shot to Chelsea that they will soon have to make a decision over the promising player.
It is stated that Gallagher wants to challenge for a starting spot in Thomas Tuchels side, yet the situation at Stamford Bridge is clearly unstable due to the imminent sale of the club.
Is Gallagher good enough for Chelsea?
Although the competition at Chelsea is still – Jorginho, Matteo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante are all proven world-class performers – the data suggests that Gallagher should have a shot of playing at least some role should he return to Stamford Bridge.
Leading data analytics company SciSports rate Gallagher as the second best central or defensive midfielder in the Premier League this season. Only Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan has performed better.
Moreover, Gallagher’s performance levels are on a steep upward curve, according to SciSports.
Chelsea should, then, take this chance to use this period of flux to introduce one of their rising stars to their squad. It would echo what they did under Frank Lampard in 2019/20, when a transfer ban forced the use of a myriad of young players, many of whom stepped up impressively.
Gallagher may not just be Chelsea’s future – he could be their present – and allowing him to leave for Juventus or Italy could be a very grave mistake indeed.
