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Conor Gallagher: The First Name on Mauricio Pochettino’s Team Sheet

February 23, 2024
Player Analysis, Premier League Analysis

Conor Gallagher was eight years old when he joined Chelsea’s academy. He was 19 when he signed a three-year contract extension with the Blues before immediately heading out on loan to Charlton Athletic. Over the next three years, Gallagher would hone his skills at Swansea City, West Brom and Crystal Palace before returning to his boyhood club and racking up 3 goals and 1 assist in 35 Premier League appearances in a tumultuous 2022/23 campaign.

 

Whilst there was plenty of speculation regarding his future after Chelsea splurged heavily in midfield with the signings of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, Gallagher has locked down a place in midfield under Mauricio Pochettino, leading the Blues in appearances (24) and starts (24). Gallagher celebrated his 24th birthday by opening the scoring within 11 minutes in Chelsea’s 3-1 win at Aston Villa in the FA Cup, before bagging a brace at his former stomping grounds in a 3-1 win vs. Palace. He played the full 90 in their 1-1 draw at Manchester City, and Pochettino will be counting on him as he looks to guide Chelsea to their first trophy in three years as they take on Liverpool in the League Cup Final on Sunday.

 

 

Very rarely is a player who plays consistently for a side, especially a struggling one by Chelsea’s standard, come off as dispensable, but yet it’s little to no secret that a good enough offer will see his nearly two-decade association to Chelsea come to an end. Perhaps the first explanation lies in another academy graduate who was also a consistent figure for Chelsea over the years. Mason Mount would’ve been at the early stages of his Chelsea career been tipped to be a one-club player, but soon after Todd Boehly’s acquisition of the club, a stalemate in contract negotiations would follow and he he was let go for a sizeable fee to rivals Manchester United, translating to pure profit for the club financially, and in the event Gallagher is sold, so would he.

 

One thing that makes Gallagher underrated is how shallow he’s profiled, especially because he’s a tenacious player, but tenacity and technical quality can coexist, and in Gallagher’s case, it very much does. From his first stint away from Cobham, Gallagher displayed his ability to affect the final third, whilst also being a hard worker across the pitch. His time at Swansea saw him adapt to first-team football with very energetic performances, and in his 19 Championship appearances for the Swans, he recorded an impressive 6 goals and 8 assists, combining such stellar numbers with equally high level defensive performances, with 1.9 tackles p90, and 0.95 interceptions p90 across all competitions.

 

A big part of what makes him such a maverick, even from his first foray into first team football, is his high footballing IQ. His ability to read space, consequently knowing how and when to arrive into it makes him a live wire in attacking sequences, add in his pristine ball striking abilities, and it’s little wonder as to why he was able to put up decent numbers when playing closer to goal at the start of his senior career.

 

A part of what makes Gallagher underrated is how shallow he’s profiled, especially because he’s a tenacious player, but tenacity and technical quality can coexist, and in his case, it very much does. From his first stint away from Cobham, Gallagher displayed his ability to affect the final third, whilst also being a hard worker across the pitch. His time at Swansea saw him adapt to first-team football with very energetic performances, and in his 19 championship appearances for the Swans, he recorded an impressive 6 goals and 8 assists, combining such stellar numbers with equally high level defensive performances, with 1.9 tackles p90, and 0.95 interceptions p90 across all competitions.

 

A big part of what makes him such a maverick, even from his first foray into first team football, is his high footballing IQ. His ability to read space, consequently knowing how and when to arrive into it makes him a live wire in attacking sequences, add in his pristine ball striking abilities, and it’s little wonder as to why he was able to put up decent numbers when playing closer to goal at the start of his senior career.

 

 

Attacking patterns such as these accentuated Gallagher’s aforementioned ability to effect the final third, these cut back sequences were very frequent in his loan spell at Crystal Palace, which contributed to his highest attacking output till date. The benefit of having Gallagher playing closer to the box reflected statistically as well, ranking in the 91 percentile amongst midfielders in the 2021/22 season with 0.25 goals p90 including 2.88 shot creating actions p90 along with.

 

Such is Gallagher’s off-ball value that it has been forgotten how effectively Gallagher can be in other phases. His return to Chelsea after three successive loan spells saw him feature less as box crashing 8, with him being saddled with more first phase responsibilities especially with the lack of an out and out number 6, but yet even in what started as an unfamiliar role, he has adapted well becoming an even more complete midfielder in the process.

 

Photo: Sofascore

 

Despite all the criticism of directed at Gallagher, he can never be accused of lacking in application to his performances, with his heat map showing how key he is for Chelsea in contributing to actions across the pitch.

 

Photo: Sofascore

 

His defensive and on-the-ball data reflect his contributions in different phases, either through his contribution off the ball, helping win the ball, or through his technical ability to keep the ball and recycle possession. But whilst Gallagher is a more effective player occupying the hole, especially as box-crashing 8, he has evolved his all round ability to be tailored to different demands in the middle and final third.

 

From his ability to initiate transitions through short passes, carries or through counterpresses, he has developed into a maverick profile that should be either priceless to his team or one of the most sought after players in Europe. In terms of similarities, players like Federico Valverde and Georginio Wijnaldum come to mind, particularly because of the combination of physical and defensive acumen with technical abilities, in all thirds and phases of play, just as suggested in his pie chart below.

 

Photo: FBRef

 

Conor Gallagher isn’t just the “runner” he’s perceived to be, there’s much more of a player than the shallow profiling that has come with him being a part of a struggling side, yet Gallagher has still nonetheless been able to deliver top tier performances for Chelsea, even occasionally captaining the side, proving himself across managers and amongst competition for his spot, and so wherever his future is, he’s going to be a top player there. With a contract until 2025, it remains to be seen how much longer he will be staying at Stamford Bridge, but one thing’s for sure: if he does elect to leave this summer, he certainly won’t have any shortage of suitors.

 

By: @free__flowing

Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA / Getty Images

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