The Sun has recently reported that Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher is on Crystal Palace’s radar this summer. It has been revealed that the Eagles are preparing to launch a £15m bid to acquire the services of the Blues youngster during this summer transfer period (via The Sun).
Gallagher’s Impressive Form For West Brom Last Season
The 21-year-old had a fruitful loan spell with West Bromwich Albion last season when he produced some impressive displays for them as a box-to-box midfielder despite being relegated from the Premier League. The Epsom-born sensation netted two goals and grabbed two assists in 32 matches for the Baggies in the previous campaign across various competitions.
Gallagher influenced the game at both ends of the field after he averaged 2.7 tackles, 0.9 interceptions, 0.9 clearances, 1.0 shots, 0.7 key passes and 1.0 dribbles per game in Premier League football. The English sensation even distributed possession with accuracy based on his pass success rate of 81.5% in the English top tier (stats via whoscored).
The way Gallagher has been playing at the Hawthorns over the past ten months, it is no wonder that Crystal Palace are showing interest in recruiting him in this off-season. Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has currently got a packed midfield, so he will struggle to offer Gallagher any meaningful playing time at Stamford Bridge next season which could open the door for the hard-working midfielder to leave this summer.
Should The Blues Let Gallagher Go This Summer?
Gallagher has a great work ethic as he can cover a lot of ground to help his teammates out at the centre of the park. He can offer decent cover for the backline by pressing the opposition high up the pitch and making life difficult for them in midfield.
The English starlet can get stuck in with a few crunching tackles to disrupt the opponent’s rhythm in the game. He is also a decent striker of the ball from long range and can even contribute by setting up some inviting chances for others around him in the final third.
However, at 21, Gallagher is still quite raw and would need time to improve his overall game and become a consistent performer in the Premier League someday. Therefore, Tuchel has no reason to keep hold of him unless he decides to use him in some capacity in the 2021-22 Premier League campaign. All in all, it is only fair to Gallagher for Chelsea to let him go before the start of the new campaign as the youngster will benefit a lot from securing more first-team football at a new club in the coming seasons.
