Why Chelsea should ONLY sell Gallagher if Pochettino is sacked

Cameron Smith

• 26 Mar 2024 10:52 CDT
• 4 min read

Conor Gallagher has been heavily linked with a Chelsea departure since the end of last season and rumours of an exit have ramped up ahead of the summer window.

Tottenham Hotspur were reportedly interested in signing the 24-year-old in 2023 and the Blues’ London rivals remain prevalent in the race to sign Gallagher to this day.

Chelsea have spent well over €1 billion on new signings since Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghabli took over as co-owners in 2022 and in order to balance the books, multiple players will be sold this summer.

EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea open talks with RB Leipzig for Gallagher replacement

Ian Maatsen, Romelu Lukaku and Lewis Hall are destined for permanent departures once the current campaign ends, while Marc Cucurella, Trevoh Chalobah and Gallagher have also been linked with an exit.

FootballTransfers understand that RB Leipzig star Dani Olmo is being monitored as a possible replacement for Gallagher if the Englishman leaves Stamford Bridge, although it remains to be seen if Chelsea will end up offloading their academy graduate.

After all, the Blues are reportedly demanding a fee in excess of €50 million for Gallagher and his Estimated Transfer Value, as per our in-house algorithm, stands at just under €40m.

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Furthermore, Mauricio Pochettino loves him and Gallagher has been named Chelsea captain on multiple occasions this campaign.

Pochettino’s current transitional style of play also suits Gallagher’s skillset perfectly as he is able to utilise his pressing ability and his immense engine. As a result, Gallagher makes sense as a player under Pochettino, even if his ability on the ball doesn’t match those around him.

Conor Gallagher to leave Chelsea?

Gallagher’s performance for England against Brazil during the March international break was heavily criticised and it was proof that he isn’t suited to a double pivot role. For England and Chelsea, his only position should be as a number eight in a midfield trio or a number 10 in a 4-2-3-1.

However, he is still a useful squad player for the Blues given his unique skillset and his passion for the club.

Ultimately, if Pochettino remains in charge then Gallagher will continue to be an extremely valuable player for Chelsea, even if his role in the team is diminished in the future to prioritise someone like Chukweumeka, who is supremely talented and has a higher ceiling than his countryman.

But, Pochettino remains under pressure and if Chelsea decide to sack him in favour of a more possession-heavy head coach, then selling Gallagher would make sense.

The England international works in Pochettino’s current system, but his value would lessen if Chelsea begin to dominate the ball more regularly. The Blues are already fairly inept at unlocking deep blocks and replacing Gallagher with Chukweumeka would help this solve this issue.

As a result, Gallagher’s future at Stamford Bridge is almost intrinsically linked to Pochettino’s. If the Argentine is sacked, then Gallagher’s chances of leaving Chelsea will, and should, increase.