Chelsea cannot afford to get Gallagher call wrong as transfer priority emerges
His face is on the front of Chelsea’s fanzine. Chelsea legend Pat Nevin was talking about him on the radio.
The biggest story of Chelsea’s transfer window will undoubtedly be Conor Gallagher and whether they end up selling him. The headline on the front of cfcuk features Gallagher and Armando Broja and the headline reads: “Two of our own that must not be sold.”
Let’s not kid ourselves here… Gallagher is a hard-working, determined and battling midfielder. He’s not a glamorous, stylish or even goalscoring midfielder. But it is what he represents to Chelsea fans that is important. He is home grown, academy graduate, a Chelsea fan himself and he clearly loves the club.
The Chelsea fans perceive he has a greater affection and affinity for the club than some of the many foreign imports that they struggle to relate to.
And yet… they could end up selling him in this window. It is about balancing the books after their recent spending sprees. And selling a home grown player gives you more relief in Financial Fair Play terms.
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Tottenham were keen to insist reports out of Italy - it seems bizarre that they are originating reports about an English domestic deal in Italy - are not accurate that they are in talks with Chelsea about Gallagher.
Join the debate! Should Chelsea consider selling Gallagher in January? Let us know here.
Gallagher has been one of Chelsea's most consistent players this season (Getty Images)But, clearly, there is interest in Gallagher because he is a super player. Committed, strong and improving. He is nearly always Chelsea’s best player and if he is not then he is in their top three performers.
However, Gallagher has 18 months left on his deal, Chelsea have held talks about tying him down and he could yet stay at the club. But will he be at the level they want to get? From what I’ve seen, he definitely will. But that’s another part of the issue.
Him going or staying is not set in stone but Chelsea must decide whether selling is really worth the inevitable backlash that they would receive for cashing in. The point is it would give them some cash to do deals as well but, in reality, this is not going to be a busy window for Chelsea compared to the last few.
Last January, Premier League spending reached a record £830m and Chelsea was a big part of that with big deals, including Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for £105m.
They clearly need a new No9 but it is unlikely they will do that in January and they also want to give Nicolas Jackson a chance while Broja may yet also come good and give them what they need in terms of a centre forward’s profile: goals, presence and focal point.
Chelsea have had so many injuries this season that maybe their squad does not look so bloated after all and, beyond Gallagher, they have not got lots of players to sell.
A new striker is a longer term target so, again, that is unlikely to happen in this window and that is why - Gallagher apart - January could be quiet for Chelsea.
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