Neville questions Chelsea on absent star plans - "Really going to sell him?"
Gary Neville has questioned Chelsea's decision to not rule out the sale of Conor Gallagher.
The former Manchester United and England defender queried the Blues' considerations in relation to their £1billion spend since the takeover of the club by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. Gallagher as a homegrown player, offers the west London club the opportunity to realise pure profit which will provide greater benefit for profit and sustainability rules.
The 23-year-old midfielder started from the bench in the Blues' Carabao Cup final win over Middlesbrough but still managed to provide two assists in the 6-1 victory. Gallagher has proven himself a key player this term for Mauricio Pochettino and none of his teammates have made more appearances than the former Crystal Palace loanee.
Neville, commentating on the match with Bill Leslie, admitted the Cobham product's absence from the starting lineup may have been telling.
"Are Chelsea really going to sell him?" Neville said following Gallagher's introduction, during his Sky Sports commentary. Leslie added: "Well if you are in the camp that think that they might, the fact he was left out tonight, does that tell you anything?"
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Neville replied: "Yeah, that’s what I thought when I saw the teamsheet come through. It’s come to a point where by you’ve spent that much money you’ve got to sell one of your own, who is playing pretty well, to fund it."
Cole Palmer celebrates after scoring with Conor Gallagher of Chelsea (Vince Mignott/MB Media)The Blues rejected a bid in the region of £40million for Gallagher in the summer, when there was an expectation he could leave. He has drawn interest from the likes of West Ham, Newcastle United and Tottenham but it will take an offer around £50m for Chelsea to consider sanctioning his sale.
Gallagher has just 18 months remaining on his deal but formal negotiations have yet to take place over a new contract. His situation has seen the former Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer draw comparison to losing Mason Mount in the summer.
He explained: "I think even more now because of the amount of changes that Chelsea have had at this club. You want to have that connection still with the fans.
"When things aren’t going particularly well you want to have those players who are fans, who are genuine Chelsea fans.
"Mason Mount was another one – I know it hasn’t quite worked out for him as yet at Manchester United – but it would’ve been great, for me personally, to see him still here because I think he would have been a big-part player at this club but finances and rules.
"I don’t think they’ve got anyone who can play in the way Conor Gallagher plays and it would be a big blow for them. But unfortunately I think some of these decisions are out of their hands because of the decisions they’ve made over the last 12 to 18 months."
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