Will Chelsea recall Conor Gallagher in January?
Robin Bairner
- 13 Dec 2021 15:43 CST
- 3 min read
Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher has been one of the breakout stars of the Premier League season, with the 21-year-old enjoying a stunning campaign with Crystal Palace.
Gallagher has scored six goals and created another three in just 15 games for Patrick Vieira’s side, who are established firmly in the middle part of the table.
Such form has led to speculation that he could be recalled from his loan deal in January, giving Chelsea additional backup in the centre of the field.
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It is a possibility that is doubtless tantalising for manager Thomas Tuchel in the short term, though it could harm Gallagher’s development in the long term as his game time would inevitably be reduced due to the competition at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues, after all, are already stacked in the heart of the park, with the likes of Ross Barkley, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Saul Niguez struggling to get a look in with N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic the regular starters.
Injury issues to regular trio, however, have fuelled speculation that Gallagher could return. Declan James, for example, filled in against Zenit St Petersburg due to the volume of physical complaints.
Indeed, technically it is possible for Chelsea to cut Gallagher’s loan deal short, but it appears there is a reluctance to cause too much upheaval in the momentum of the youngster.
Tuchel not ruling anything out with Gallagher
Football.London has reported that the player is quite happy where he is, while Tuchel has previously addressed the situation, not ruling anything out.
“It is important to be calm, I feel him happy there and that he is having this impact at Crystal Palace,” he said in November.
“It is too early to talk about that in public before we talk with Conor himself and what his goals are. This will happen in the summer as we all agreed to the decision that we wanted to send him to Palace.”
As well as Gallagher, Chelsea also have promising Scotland international Billy Gilmour out on loan at Norwich.
