Continuing with our series evaluating the fate of a raft of returning loanees to the Chelsea squad ahead of the 22/23 season, we take a look at the near-future of 22-year-old English midfielder Conor Gallagher, who enjoyed a fine campaign on loan with Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace in south London.
Gallagher is certainly on the more experienced side when compared to other members of the loan army - accumulating 64 Premier League career appearances to date, including three appearances for the England senior side, making his debut last November.
A Chelsea player since the age of eight, winning Academy Player of the Year in 2019, Gallagher impressed in the Championship with loan spells at Charlton Athletic and Swansea City, before his first spell in the top flight with West Bromwich Albion during the 20/21 season. Despite the Baggies relegation with just five wins and 76 goals shipped, Gallagher picked up over 2,500 Premier League minutes, crucial to his development and maturity as a player.
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With Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic occupying central areas, and Saul arriving on loan on deadline day, newly appointed Patrick Vieira, himself a tenacious box-to-box midfielder on his day, was keen to add Gallagher to his new-look Crystal Palace side, also signing ex-Cobham centre back Marc Guehi, who played alongside Gallagher at Swansea.
Missing the opener to Chelsea due to eligibility rules, Gallagher introduced himself to the Palace fans on gameweek three away to West Ham, bagging a brace, as well as creating one big chance, playing one ‘key pass’ and misplacing just one of 26 attempted passes. The second goal was a work of art - a smart Cruyff turn in a crowded box before drilling past Łukasz Fabiański to make it 2-2.
Gallagher quickly became a Vieira favourite in midfield - starting 15 consecutive league games, scoring six and assisting three in that period. Palace’s 4-3-3 setup suited the midfielder well; with Will Hughes or Cheikhou Kouyate acting as the deep anchor, Gallagher was able to contribute both defensively and offensively and cover a huge amount of ground, owing to his work rate and ability in both putting in a tackle and playing a decisive pass in the final third.
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A goal and an assist in a memorable 0-2 away win against Manchester City saw Gallagher’s fine form rewarded with a first England call up, making his debut in a 10-0 drubbing of San Marino, after picking up 36 combined caps for England’s youth sides from U17 level and up.
After missing three of a possible seven league games between December and February, Gallagher finished the season strongly, starting 12 of the final 13 league games - scoring away at Watford, taking his overall league tally to eight goals and three assists, second only to Wilfried Zaha in terms of goals and to Michael Olise in terms of assists.
Gallagher was also crucial to Palace’s run to the FA Cup semi-final, playing 296 of a possible 360 minutes, assisting in earlier round victories against Millwall and Hartlepool.
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The youngster can certainly be happy with his contributions to the Palace side this season, and his manager was very pleased too. “It is a manager's dream to have a player like Conor. When he is on the field, he will give everything. He is focused, he is concentrating and always gives his best. That is something that for me it is really important," Vieira said after Gallagher scored a brace against Everton in December.
"Conor has this passion for the game when he is on the field like a Ray Parlour, but I would say he has maybe the quality finishing of a Frank Lampard."
A superb season was rewarded with a nomination for 2022 PFA Young Player of the Year, an all-English shortlist eventually won by Phil Foden. Purely stylistically, Gallagher surely passes the ‘eye test’ - his energy levels are second to none in the Palace squad, and he is effective with the ball anywhere on the field; whether he is breaking up an opposition counter-attack, or looking to thread a narrow through ball in opposition territory.
With Palace often alternating between a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 formation, Gallagher looked equally comfortable as a number eight in the former approach, or in a more attacking number 10 role in the latter. This versatility and roundness to his game has drawn comparisons to Lampard, as mentioned by Vieira, as well as potential teammate for the coming season Mason Mount. Gallagher can certainly be confident of featuring in the England squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, likely to feature a range of ex-Cobham talents from Marc Guehi to Tammy Abraham.
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Statistically speaking, Gallagher also excelled last season. He was ranked as the squad’s third-best performer by FootballCritic, second only to Eberechi Eze and Tyrick Mitchell. His ‘non-penalty expected goals’ per 90 of 0.18 ranked in the top five percent for midfielders in Europe’s ‘top five’ leagues - indicating a goal threat that is currently lacking from Chelsea’s midfield, whilst his tackles in the final third (0.51) and pressures in the final third (6.71) per 90 ranked in the top six and three percent respectively.
What does the future hold for Conor Gallagher ahead of next season? With Jorginho’s contract set to expire next summer, and Kante’s injury problems seemingly catching up to him (the Frenchman starting just 22 league games last campaign), Gallagher could play a crucial role in the squad next season with potentially over 60 games to compete in.
However, two things must happen for this to be realised. Firstly, a formation switch away from a back-three approach may be needed to fully get the best out of Gallagher’s immense talent. With the midfielder far more comfortable in a midfield three, a move away from Thomas Tuchel’s 3-4-3 setup would benefit the youngster greatly. This may require the signing of an additional midfielder to act as the deep number six - with Gallagher, Mount and Kovacic vying for the number eight slots.
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Secondly, Gallagher must be patient and content with a bit-part role in the squad next season after being one of the first names on the team sheet for West Brom and Palace. If Tuchel sticks with a 3-4-3 formation, Gallagher’s minutes in his preferred central midfield role may be limited. On the other hand, Chelsea played in 63 of a possible 66 games across all competitions last season, and if Gallagher impresses in pre-season, he could pick up extensive minutes in the domestic cups and Champions League Group Stage.
Verdict: KEEP
Topics: Chelsea, Conor Gallagher
Finn Williams