Conor Gallagher grew up in a family of Chelsea fans, idolising Frank Lampard and living a 10-minute drive away from the club's Cobham training centre. He earned his dream opportunity at the age of eight, joining Chelsea and progressing through their youth system. Now 21 years of age, he is making his mark as a Premier League player, but not at Stamford Bridge.
After a series of loan spells in lower leagues, with Charlton Athletic and Swansea City, Gallagher got his first taste of top-flight football last season, at West Bromwich Albion. He went back out on loan this season, with Crystal Palace, and has thrived. His performances have been too good for England manager Gareth Southgate to ignore.
"We've been very impressed with him," Southgate said after calling the player into his squad for England's final 2022 World Cup qualifier against San Marino. Gallagher made his senior international debut in that game, coming off the bench at half-time. Thomas Tuchel has also paid attention Gallagher's performances, suggesting he may also have a future with Chelsea.
ANALYSING GALLAGHER'S CRYSTAL PALACE PERFORMANCES
This season has been one of change for Crystal Palace. Patrick Vieira was appointed manager, succeeding Roy Hodgson and bringing in a raft of young players to rejuvenate a stagnating squad. Gallagher arrived, alongside Odsonne Edouard, Michael Olise, Joachim Andersen and fellow Chelsea academy graduate Marc Guehi, and immediately nailed down a regular starting berth.
Within Vieira's preferred 4-3-3 formation, Gallagher has played as a box-to-box midfielder. It's a similar role to the one he played at West Brom, allowing him to contribute offensively and defensively. An attack-minded player, he breaks the last line with runs in behind and has a habit of hitting the penalty box.
This inclination has been evident throughout his career. He scored six goals during his season on loan at Charlton in the Championship in 2019-20. "[Manager] Lee Bowyer told me he wants to make the box every time," Gallagher said in an interview with London News. "I love to hear that. I want to score goals."
Gallagher is not what many would imagine when thinking of an attacking midfielder. Some of his main strengths, such as anticipating moves and timing his runs, are not overtly noticeable as they happen off the ball, away from the cameras. One of his three assists so far this term came against Burnley. With the centre-backs occupied by Christian Benteke, a quick burst got Gallagher in behind. He latched onto the ball over the top before setting up Benteke to score.
Gallagher has also scored six goals this season, a tally bettered only by eight other Premier League players. He is among the most potent midfielders in the country, alongside the likes of Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes. While he strikes the ball well and is more than capable of scoring from outside the box, most of his goals come from inside the penalty area, often following late runs. He is generally the second or third Palace player to attack the box, receiving cut-backs to finish.
With great energy reserves allowing him to get up and down the pitch, Gallagher does not shy away from the defensive side of things either. Indeed, only seven players in the Premier League average more tackles per game than his 2.8. And most of those players would be classified as defenders or ball-winners, not goalscoring midfielders.
ASSESSING GALLAGHER'S CHELSEA PROSPECTS
In terms of actual output, Gallagher is already ahead of several attacking midfielders in Chelsea's current squad. The only player that can compete with him for goals and assists is Mason Mount, and there are similarities between the pair that go beyond their home-grown status. Both are dynamic and hard-working players who combine intelligent movement with versatility and end product.
For pure ball mastery, Gallagher cannot compete with the likes of Kai Havertz or Hakim Ziyech. And yet neither of those players can get near the 21-year-old's 17.6% goal conversion rate, nor do they dribble as frequently or as successfully, win as many tackles, or set up as many shooting opportunities for teammates.
Gallagher is a bit of an all-rounder in comparison to his positional rivals back at Chelsea, which perhaps gives him an edge when it comes to earning minutes. At the same time, Tuchel usually fields a 3-4-3 formation, and it is debatable whether Gallagher is ready to thrive in either a base midfield two or as one of the two creators behind the striker.
A 3-5-2 might suit him more, where he would have license to get forward from deep, ghost into open space and receive the ball facing goal, as opposed to starting in a high position, already under close coverage by defenders, and receiving with his back to goal.
Chelsea have a history of selling their home-grown talent. Last summer, Tammy Abraham left the club for Roma after finding his route into the first-team blocked by the signing of Romelu Lukaku. But this isn't always the case, as Mount, Reece James and, more recently, Trevoh Chalobah can attest to. If Gallagher continues to produce at Premier League level with Crystal Palace, he could soon follow in their footsteps.
All data is courtesy of WhoScored.
