23. Conor Gallagher

[Blue Armour 4,289]

If you combined RLCs technical ability and Gallagher's tenaciousness, you would probably get an excellent starting 11 player.

Unfortunately, they are both limited in certain aspects and hence only amount to squad players.

Edited August 17, 2023 by Blue Armour

[Vesper 28,832]

4 hours ago, Blue Armour said:

If you combined RLCs technical ability and Gallagher's tenaciousness, you would probably get an excellent starting 11 player.

Unfortunately, they are both limited in certain aspects and hence only amount to squad players.

squad players for us, nailed-on starters for 90 plus per cent of teams around Europe

[Duppy Conqueror 1,494]

RLC offered more positional flexibility.Conor only really suits as a spaniel in a 3 man midfield.so wouldnt say he's good to have on the bench.looks like we aiming to play with a midfield 3 and maybe Poch can get the best out of him,wouldnt mind waiting a year before selling him but if Conor indicates he wants to leave to start somewhere else then totally fine with that happening. Feel he'll be sold within next year to 18 months either way.

[Reddish-Blue 2,347]

11 minutes ago, Duppy Conqueror said:

RLC offered more positional flexibility.Conor only really suits as a spaniel in a 3 man midfield.so wouldnt say he's good to have on the bench.looks like we aiming to play with a midfield 3 and maybe Poch can get the best out of him,wouldnt mind waiting a year before selling him but if Conor indicates he wants to leave to start somewhere else then totally fine with that happening. Feel he'll be sold within next year to 18 months either way.

RLC was also wasted in the deeper midfield roles.   He's at his best taking on the opposition and trying to score/create goals. 

Always felt he'd do well in a different league where pace/intensity isn't as high as the PL. 

[Duppy Conqueror 1,494]

1 hour ago, Reddish-Blue said:

RLC was also wasted in the deeper midfield roles.   He's at his best taking on the opposition and trying to score/create goals. 

Always felt he'd do well in a different league where pace/intensity isn't as high as the PL. 

After the major injury he wasnt really starter quality for us in any position but could do a 7/10 job in a few so offered decent positional flexibily to have on the bench as we saw with him in recent years. He can do a starters job elsewhere though for sure.

[Vesper 28,832]

Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher: Captain, leader and in limbo

https://theathletic.com/4874357/2023/09/20/Chelsea-gallagher-maatsen-contract/

Amid the frustration of Chelsea’s familiar failings against Bournemouth, one of the few interesting subplots was confirmation that Conor Gallagher is Mauricio Pochettino’s third choice as captain this season, ahead of several more likely candidates.

With newly minted club captain Reece James sidelined by injury and Ben Chilwell a substitute, Pochettino still had the option of giving the armband to either of the two oldest players in his young squad, Thiago Silva or Raheem Sterling. There was also Enzo Fernandez who, even at 22, already carries a real presence at the heart of this Chelsea team as a World Cup winner.

Fernandez might also have been the easier political choice given that his talent and price tag ensure he will be a key part of this ambitious Chelsea project for as long as he wants to be.

Starting a Premier League game with Gallagher as captain was a far bigger statement, coming so soon after a summer transfer window in which he felt oddly expendable.

Yet it was also building upon a trend that began on Chelsea’s pre-season tour of the United States, where Gallagher played more minutes than anyone else. That was admittedly in part because deals for Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia were not yet finalised and Lesley Ugochukwu was a late addition to the tour squad, but it was also because Pochettino values the tenacity, personality and tactical versatility that the Cobham graduate brings to his team.

As one of only three outfielders to have started all five of Chelsea’s matches this season (the others being Axel Disasi and Levi Colwill), Gallagher’s prominence under Pochettino stands out because he could so easily have been patrolling another Premier League midfield. Transfer talks with Tottenham Hotspur in the final days of the window were real. Earlier in the summer, West Ham United also felt Gallagher was gettable as they recruited for the post-Declan Rice era.

Neither club ultimately matched Chelsea’s asking price, believed to be in the region of £50million ($61.8m). But, while the club were resolved to only consider a sale on their terms, the fraught nature of Gallagher’s summer has created an awkward situation for all parties involved.

The extensive nature of Chelsea’s squad overhaul in the last two transfer windows means that, incredibly, 24 of Pochettino’s 27-man senior group are contracted at Stamford Bridge until at least June 2026. The three exceptions are Silva (a unique case at 38 years old), Gallagher and fellow academy product Ian Maatsen who, not coincidentally, also endured a summer of heavy transfer speculation.

Gallagher is out of contract in June 2025, and Maatsen is effectively on the same timeline by virtue of a one-year extension option that Chelsea hold. Both are now in a contractual state that Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital do not want to exist at Stamford Bridge: players who have made it inside the final two years of their deals without being renewed or sold.

Keeping those opposing options open in big-picture talks with players and their representatives is no easy task, as co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart have found. Being relentlessly linked with other clubs has not exactly made it simpler to broach a possible contract extension with Gallagher, and there are no live talks.

Maatsen turned down several offers to renew in the summer, including one for a six-year contract with a club option for a seventh, before Burnley’s deadline-day approach. That does not mean either player wants to leave Chelsea, only that some variables are yet to align in favour of a new agreement.

One of those is that the pecking order of Pochettino’s new-look squad remains unclear. Gallagher is starting every Chelsea game right now, but he knows the situation could change significantly when Caicedo, Lavia and Carney Chukwuemeka return from injury.

Maatsen’s path is muddied by positional uncertainty. Pochettino’s use of Colwill at left-back does not help the 21-year-old Dutchman, nor does the failure to offload Marc Cucurella. Competing for attacking midfield minutes looks no easier with Cole Palmer added to a mix that already included Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk and Sterling, and will be thickened further when Chukwuemeka and Christopher Nkunku are back.

Neither Maatsen nor Gallagher is particularly incentivised to commit to a long-term extension. Maatsen turned down the offer from Burnley, who met Chelsea’s valuation, in part because of questions about the club’s Premier League viability and manager Vincent Kompany’s long-term future at Turf Moor. There is a belief that bigger, more established top-flight clubs could come calling in January.

Gallagher’s stock will continue to rise if he closes out 2023 as a regular starter for Chelsea, which could have the double effect of strengthening his hand in potential contract negotiations while intensifying the market for his services in the winter window. His preference has always been to play for his boyhood club, but he will be guided by what is best for his career. Maintaining his place in the England squad is a significant factor.

Chelsea consider both players’ situations to be open. Gallagher has the chance to play his way into a more secure long-term role at Stamford Bridge under Pochettino, while Maatsen’s presence formed part of the club’s thinking in sanctioning Lewis Hall’s divisive departure for Newcastle United.

In the future, there is a determination to avoid the acrimonious circumstances that surrounded Mason Mount’s defection to Manchester United with one year remaining on his Chelsea deal. Boehly and Clearlake believe their policy of hyper-long contracts will help the club to achieve this in time, even if it does not prevent players from agitating to leave Stamford Bridge or be given renewals on improved terms.

None of that applies in the cases of Gallagher and Maatsen.

What happens with both players from here is impossible to predict, and their level of involvement under Pochettino may not be an entirely solid indicator of the decisions that Chelsea ultimately make on their futures.

[Blue Armour 4,289]

Sigh, if he only had the same goal scoring form he had while at Palace. Because he's limited in other aspects to be a starting 11 player.

[robsblubot 3,504]

He will enjoy a lot of space and opportunity to score until he does; Enzo will enjoy nothing. Enzo will be tight market from the get go at all times, while Conor will have the opportunity to *become* a threat.

Last showing was NOT encouraging tho.

[Blue Armour 4,289]

Credit where its due. I've always ranted about his ability on the ball, but he has vastly improved in this aspect in the past few games. 

Plus him playing in front of Enzo is a lot better option than the other way around. 

If he keeps this up, I will happily eat humble pie.

@NikkiCFC is right that there is a player here that can do a job for the team.

[NikkiCFC 7,953]

You need player like him ofc, hopefully new deal is signed soon. Captain, playing every game, board must have realized message from Poch by now? Dont do something stupid.

And I saw some people think he will be benched when Lavia is back but zero chance we go with Lavia, Caicedo, Enzo midfield. I do not think Lavia will be starter here next couple of years.

In offensive lineup ofc. Nkunku behind Jackson when back.

[Pizy 18,368]

He’s playing like a machine out there at times. Oddly, the attacking part of his game seems to have completely left him which is what made him an exciting prospect for the last 5 years. He was great at pressing and scoring goals. Now he still presses like a maniac but doesn’t even look like scoring ever.

[Fernando 6,464]

As always mentioned I was always torn about him being sold. I knew he could be decent and he loves Chelsea. 

Only a big bid would have gotten me to sold. 

Now he ain't going nowhere, which is good. 

[Vesper 28,832]

Keep.

Don't sell.

No, I am not drunk.

[Vesper 28,832]

 

[Magic Lamps 11,654]

On 13/10/2023 at 14:32, Vesper said:

 

As visible in this video and evident in his last few matches that Conor has done something few footballers have achieved. Improving his ability on the ball significantly relatively late. Compared to last season his close control and dribbling is so much better. Still not pristine but way more assured. Despite inferior talent he is about to do something RLC and Mount have failed at. Nailing down a position and performing consistently in it for us. 

[robsblubot 3,504]

2 hours ago, Magic Lamps said:

As visible in this video and evident in his last few matches that Conor has done something few footballers have achieved. Improving his ability on the ball significantly relatively late. Compared to last season his close control and dribbling is so much better. Still not pristine but way more assured. Despite inferior talent he is about to do something RLC and Mount have failed at. Nailing down a position and performing consistently in it for us. 

I agree that Conor is improving and becoming a good player. Now, we've been playing pretty shit opposition lately, so we will see how these players, including Conor, do against mids who can actually play at a much higher tempo. I know what Kante did to them. We know how Jorginho and Kova fared. We do NOT know how well Conor, or even Caicedo will do. We have a better idea with Enzo, tho. It's a long season... lots can happen.

Putting Mount and RLC in the same bucket is literally trying to rewrite history. 😆 One was a first teamer who won CL, while the other was never more than a sub. I know the mount hate is strong around here, but boy...

 

Edited October 16, 2023 by robsblubot

[Vesper 28,832]

1 hour ago, robsblubot said:

I agree that Conor is improving and becoming a good player. Now, we've been playing pretty shit opposition lately, so we will see how these players, including Conor, do against mids who can actually play at a much higher tempo. I know what Kante did to them. We know how Jorginho and Kova fared. We do NOT know how well Conor, or even Caicedo will do. We have a better idea with Enzo, tho. It's a long season... lots can happen.

Putting Mount and RLC in the same bucket is literally trying to rewrite history. 😆 One was a first teamer who won CL, while the other was never more than a sub. I know the mount hate is strong around here, but boy...

 

Mount collapsed after mid October 2022 (16/10/22 was his last truly good game, a brace v Villa)

one goal (v Bournemouth) and one assist (CL v Dinamo Zagreb and that was on November 2, when we scraped out a 2 1 win) all comps the rest of the season

[Magic Lamps 11,654]

2 hours ago, robsblubot said:

I agree that Conor is improving and becoming a good player. Now, we've been playing pretty shit opposition lately, so we will see how these players, including Conor, do against mids who can actually play at a much higher tempo. I know what Kante did to them. We know how Jorginho and Kova fared. We do NOT know how well Conor, or even Caicedo will do. We have a better idea with Enzo, tho. It's a long season... lots can happen.

Putting Mount and RLC in the same bucket is literally trying to rewrite history. 😆 One was a first teamer who won CL, while the other was never more than a sub. I know the mount hate is strong around here, but boy...

 

Read again. Obviously mount was overall the better player for us  so far and has achieved more but mount never nailed a position down, he was always a makeshift winger which is not his primary position and he never was consistent. His all round game was always too poor defensively to warrant him a place at his natural position. I also wrote that Conor os about to do it not that he already has