Why Chelsea can't sell Conor Gallagher after sparing Mauricio Pochettino’s blushes

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It was quite fitting that Conor Gallagher was the man to spare Mauricio Pochettino’s blushes against Crystal Palace. The Chelsea manager has been under intense pressure after a dismal season and that looked like intensifying with Palace holding a 1-0 lead at half-time.

Stats

C. Gallagher Central Midfield

Chelsea FC

Season 23/24–
Premier League

Games

24

Goals

2

Assists

4

Chelsea had 80% possession in the first half and 420 passes without having a single shot on target - the record for the most passes without a shot on target in the last twenty years in the English Premier League. But Gallagher stepped up with two excellent finishes to inflict pain on his former loan club after previously scoring a late winner against Palace in October 2022. The 24-year-old’s starring performance makes Chelsea’s decision to contemplate selling Gallagher in January even more baffling. 

The numbers behind Conor Gallagher’s impressive campaign 

It’s been an excellent week for Gallagher as he finally reaped the rewards that his performances this season have deserved. The English international netted his first goal of the season in the impressive 3-1 win over Aston Villa and he followed that up with his first league goal of the season to equalise against Palace before effectively winning the game for Chelsea in injury time, before Enzo Fernández added gloss to the scoreline. Gallagher underlined his credentials as a Premier League player on loan at Palace during the 2021/22 season and, remarkably, six of his last ten league goals have been scored at Selhurst Park - three for Chelsea and three for Palace. 

Alongside Cole Palmer - who registered two assists against Palace - Gallagher has been Chelsea’s shining light this season. The midfielder has only missed one game all season through suspension and he’s played more minutes (2,510) than any other Chelsea player, except Axel Disasi. Gallagher’s role has evolved across the season after initially being deployed as a deeper midfielder by Pochettino but he’s now flourishing in his best role as a box-to-box player. “I’ve played in a number of positions this season,” Gallagher admitted post-match on Sky Sports. “I played more as a holding midfielder at the start of the season, then box-to-box and a number 10. I even think I played up front in a few games. I am happy to play anywhere for the manager. I am happy wherever I play.”

Gallagher was outstanding against Palace and had the joint-most shots (3) and the joint-most chances created (3). He is developing into an excellent all-round midfielder and he has won possession back in the final third more than any other player in the Premier League (31). As the graphic above illustrates, using stats from FBRef, Gallagher is comfortably one of Chelsea’s best defensive players, coming in first place among his team mates for interceptions, tackles won and blocked shots and passes across the pitch. Gallagher is now improving his attacking numbers to add to his defensive excellence and it should end any speculation that Chelsea could sell him after he was strongly linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur in January.

Why Chelsea considered selling Connor Gallagher 

The main reasons that Chelsea considered selling Gallagher is down to the fact that he would represent pure profit if sold as he’s an academy graduate. If UEFA and the Premier League’s financial fair play rules begin to put pressure on the club’s financial results, a player like Gallagher would be a prime candidate to cash in on this summer. Gallagher is also highly-regarded in the Premier League, wanted by a number of clubs and could be sold for a sizeable sum.

The club have already made around €270m from player sales this season, but that has been entirely swallowed up by the €468m that they spent on new players in the summer. Chelsea have spent no less than €344 million on central midfielders Carney Chukwuemeka, Lesley Ugochukwu, Moisés Caicedo, Roméo Lavia and Fernández. The club’s hierarchy may prefer to see these players get game time over the young player that came through the youth academy and didn’t cost any money to sign at all, but Gallagher's performances should ensure that he remains an important part of Chelsea's plans next season.