Chelsea face a conundrum on whether to keep Conor Gallagher or cash in on his enhanced reputation, with loan coach Carlo Cudicini claiming there has been interest from abroad for his services. The midfielder has enjoyed a superb season so far on loan at Crystal Palace, having scored six goals and registered three assists in his 16 Premier League games.
Gallagher, 21, joined Chelsea’s academy at the age of just 8 and rose to become their Academy Player of the Year in 2018-19.
Loan spells at Charlton, Swansea and West Brom followed in the two seasons after, where he made 30 appearances for the Baggies in the Premier League and scored twice.
But Gallagher’s career has taken flight this year thanks to a hugely impressive loan spell at Crystal Palace.
An England cap has followed his superb efforts, and Chelsea fans are looking forward to seeing his potential involvement next season at Stamford Bridge.
However, in an interview with Ladbrokes, Chelsea’s loan coach and ex-keeper Cudicini believes the star has garnered interest from abroad and domestically – leaving Chelsea in a conundrum as to what they will do with the youngster, with a £60m being touted.
“That’s why we’ve not put anything in place to recall him next month – it’s the same with Billy Gilmour.
“I’ve said this many times in the past, but a loan isn’t necessarily only successful if you’re playing every single minute. Sometimes, especially at that age, you learn just as much when you’re not in the team.
“I think back to Conor last season at West Bromwich Albion where he had a difficult moment when the manager Slaven Bilic was replaced by Sam Allardyce.
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“With a player as talented as Conor, you’re always going to receive a lot of interest from a number of clubs, both from England and abroad.
“It was just a matter of understanding what the manager wants from him, and then it’s about picking the right club – and we feel Crystal Palace is exactly that.”
The Eagles have been backed by former midfielder Darren Ambrose to sign the midfielder permanently following his superb form.
Gallagher is yet to make a single Chelsea appearance but has quickly become a fan favourite at Selhurst Park.
And Ambrose believes Palace should smash their transfer record and pay a whopping £60million to sign the midfielder.
“£60m, I think that could do it. He’s playing every week, he’s happy,” he told talkSPORT.
“I think Palace is a club going forward. They’ve got a manager in Patrick Vieira who is someone you want to learn off.”
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