Conor Gallagher must keep his starting position as Chelsea’s No 10 for today’s Premier League match versus Manchester City.
That is according to pundit Martin Keown.
Conor Gallagher, 24, has been a very important player for Mauricio Pochettino’s side throughout the season so far.
The versatile star has hit a mini purple patch of form since the Blues manager started using him as a No 10 playmaker.
He’s been slotting in as the most advanced of a midfield trio that includes Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, which gives him a real licence to support the centre-forward and be busy in the final third of the pitch.
Gallagher goes into Saturday evening’s league trip to Man City with three goals in his last two games across all competitions. The England international is an absolute workhorse every single time he plays, too.
Speaking to Sky Sports on Monday, Gallagher was shocked and pleased to hear he covered 13km in the win over Crystal Palace.
When speaking about the Man City meeting with Chelsea, Keown insists the visitors will need the running power of Gallagher to be successful at the Etihad Stadium.
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“Chelsea are rivalling City in possession of the ball but not in what they do with it, and Mauricio Pochettino is still searching for the right formula,” Keown told The Daily Mail.
“One player who he needs to use at No 10 – and who they should not consider selling this summer – is Conor Gallagher.
“He is a one-man army. He will press and press and press. He will drop back into midfield to do his defensive duties.
“Now he is making the right runs to get himself goals, his two against Crystal Palace securing their 3-1 win last week. I’d be amazed if another player covers as much ground as Gallagher on Saturday.
“Pochettino may look to surround him with speed merchants to hurt City on the counter-attack.”
Conor Gallagher key for Chelsea
We agree Gallagher’s got to keep his spot in the Chelsea line-up when he’s performing like this.
It won’t be a surprise if the Blues suffer a lot less possession this weekend against Man City. Fortunately, there’s not many better that work harder or smarter off the ball than Gallagher.
We think over time Chelsea attacker Christopher Nkunku has a shot of making the No 10 position his own. You’ve got to take into account recent form when selecting the XIs, though.
