Chelsea’s academy prospect Connor Gallagher is having the time of his life with Crystal Palace, having already scored fix goals from a midfield position, adding to the three assists he made. Against Everton on Sunday, the 21-year-old chipped in with a brace as the Toffees went down 3-1. This victory takes the side just one point behind 10th placed Brentford.
Gallagher joined Chelsea in 2008 and has remained in their youth setup for over a decade. He had three different loan spells beginning in 2019, where he went to Charlton Athletic, followed by Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion in the second division. This year, he was picked up on loan by Palace and has made a supreme impression straight away.
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Now that the youngster is starting to make his presence felt at the highest stage in the Premier League, Chelsea’s director Marina Granovskaia has a massive decision to make, whether to fast track him in the Blues’ setup under Thomas Tuchel or to find him a suitable club next summer. Interestingly, only Mason Mount from Chelsea has scored more goals than Gallagher in the league.
Mount himself had a similar progression into the Chelsea setup. He was playing under Frank Lampard for Derby County when he made a move to his boyhood club alongside Lampard, who joined as manager in 2019. With the transfer ban still intact, the Blues had no choice but to look for academy prospects to comeback and Mount ended up assisting the Champions League-winning goal for the club in 2021.
The Palace manager Patrick Vieira loves the impact Gallagher has had on the Eagles alread, and the Arsenal legend is keen on helping him develop further. There is great belief in the Chelsea camp that the midfielder will be called to play for their first team next season, but with the club already having some outstanding options like Mount, Kai Havertz, and Matteo Kovacic.
Chelsea fans on social media have been demanding Granovskaia to bring back the young talent to the club in January, which looks unlikely as the Palace manager is a big admirer of the player. But the chances of him moving back in summer cannot be ruled out.
