Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has forced Blues owner Todd Boehly into a complete U-turn following a transfer row over England international Conor Gallagher. Boehly had been willing to cash in on Gallagher in the summer, despite protests from the manager, but is now set to hand the midfielder a new contract at Stamford Bridge as the player has impressed during the early stages of the season.
Before the campaign got underway, football journalist Ben Jacobs told GIVEMEPORT that the Chelsea board would have considered selling Gallagher if the right offer came along. But Pochettino was said to “quite like” the 23-year-old and had been very impressed with him during the Blues’ pre-season tour of the USA.
Chelsea had reportedly rejected a £40million bid from West Ham for the player in July. And after the ace started his side’s first three matches of the season, the west Londoners turned down another offer of the same amount from Tottenham on transfer deadline day.
After the summer transfer window slammed shut, Pochettino said: “From the outside, Conor was a really good player and a really consistent player that can perform in different positions. We are so happy with him. Different things happened in the past we can’t say anything about. We can only express our feeling from day one, and he showed great commitment to the club.”
Gallagher has gone on to start every Premier League match this season and has even captained Chelsea in their last three top-flight clashes.
And according to the Daily Mail, the Blues are now planning talks with Gallagher over his Stamford Bridge future as his current contract is set to expire in the summer of 2025. Chelsea chiefs are happy with the player’s performances on the pitch and are keen to find the best outcome for all parties.
“It’s a really proud time for me to captain the club the few times I have,” Gallagher explained after guiding Chelsea to a 2-0 win over Fulham on Monday night.
“You know how much it means to me and how much I want to do well at Chelsea because it’s my club that I’ve supported my whole life so to captain the club for a few games is amazing and I just want to keep trying to perform the best I can to help the team win games so hopefully I can continue to do that.”
Chelsea’s win at Fulham lifted them to 11th in the Premier League table. And Pochettino will be hoping his side can deliver again when they travel to Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
