CON AIR
Ex-Chelsea star says ‘if I was Conor Gallagher I’d be p***ed off’ as Blues look to force midfielder out of bloated squad
Former Blue is reminded of another infamous Chelsea transfer moment
FORMER Chelsea star Emmanuel Petit reckons Conor Gallagher is likely to be “p****d off” at his Stamford Bridge axe this summer.
The England midfielder is on the brink of a £34million move to Atletico Madrid after being frozen out by Enzo Maresca.
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Gallagher was put up for sale after rejecting a new two-year contract, with the option for a third season, on lucrative wages.
It means the academy star’s current deal expires at the end of the season.
And Chelsea were desperate to avoid losing Gallagher on a free transfer, with his impending fee also going towards Profit and Sustainability Rules.
The Blues are already set to reinvest Gallagher’s money in a £42m move for Atleti’s Joao Felix.
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But it remains to be seen whether the former Chelsea loanee can make a similar impact following Gallagher’s star turn last term.
And World Cup winner Petit, who played 76 times for the Blues between 2001 and 2004, has now hit out at his former employer for their treatment of Gallagher.
He feels Chelsea are losing a key club-grown player who has a real connection with his surroundings.
And Petit has questioned why Todd Boehly’s consortium instead continue to “gamble” on signings from abroad.
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He told : “Chelsea should try to keep Conor Gallagher. In modern football, sometimes you don’t have an Englishman in the starting XI and Chelsea need his English presence in the squad.
“It really reminds me of the Mason Mount situation, both players were happy to stay at the club and both have been forced out.
Gary Neville claims Raheem Sterling 'may be punching back on behalf of Gallagher and Chalobah' after Chelsea statement
Chelsea ratings vs Man City
CHELSEA began life under new boss Enzo Maresca with a 2-0 home defeat to champions Manchester City.
Here's how SunSport's Lloyd Canfield rated the Chelsea lot as the season didn't begin how they wanted.
Robert Sanchez – 4/10
Distribution-wise, it's not good enough; that said, he made an absolutely fantastic save to deny a deflected effort from Jeremy Doku in the first half.
Similarly in the second half, made a routine save to deny Erling Haaland before getting a hand to Mateo Kovacic's shot, but failed to stop it rattling the back of the net.
Malo Gusto – 5
It's more of the impressive attitude we saw last season from the flying Frenchman, but today, he couldn't stamp his mark on the game at all going forward.
We certainly see more of his best qualities in the game where Chelsea have more of the ball, he should grow into the season nicely over the next few games.
Wesley Fofana – 5
He didn't look out of his depth in his first Premier League game for Chelsea for over a year, and despite conceding, it was a decent performance to build on in the coming games.
Did well physically against Haaland in fairness, and made it through the 90 minutes unscathed which will please Chelsea fans in some capacity.
Levi Colwill – 5
Tough day at the office against physicality personified in Erling Haaland.
Did play the ball well out from the back for Chelsea with a few good blocks and tackles. But much the same as with Wesley Fofana, there is room for growth into the season with easier fixtures upcoming, particularly where Chelsea will dominate on the ball.
Marc Cucurella – 6
Forced Jeremy Doku into a change of wing in the first half after winning a tough battle against the Belgian winger, and stepped into challenges well for the most part.
Was solid again in the second half before going off with an injury.
Romeo Lavia – 6
He looked like a calming presence in the Chelsea midfield when he did get the ball and he broke up play pretty well for a player who has been out through injury for so long.
Continued his good pre-season form and is deserving of a run in the side.
Moises Caicedo – 5
A similar performance really to the aforementioned Lavia, but was one of Chelsea's better progressors of the ball when they did get forwards and showed some nice touches in the middle of the park.
Fans will be left wondering whether he, Lavia and Enzo Fernandez fit into the same midfield.
Enzo Fernandez – 5
A mixed performance from the Argentine midfielder who showed promise in spells, but it really wasn't the level you would expect of a player with his price tag.
This could have been a huge game for the Chelsea captain for the day, but he failed to really stamp his mark on it in comparison to the player whom he replaced, Mateo Kovacic.
Christopher Nkunku – 4
Enzo Maresca seemed to want him playing as a touchline winger, but the forward looks far more comfortable in the middle of the pitch.
He was the first player to be hooked in the second half and was replaced by Pedro Neto, who looked more at home wide on the left-hand side.
Cole Palmer – 5
It was far from the electric performance which saw him scoop heaps of praise last season.
He still did show glimpses going forward, but he just failed to impact the game in the ways he did last time around.
Nicolas Jackson – 4
New season, same old Nicolas Jackson.
A great run in the first half was let down by a pea-roller of a shot into a Man City defender, before he hit the back of the net only to see the official's flag raised on the far side.
I'm sorry Nic Jackson, but it's a four for you this time round...
SUBS:
Pedro Neto (Nkunku, 58) – 5
Not the kind of debut that got fans out of their seats, but with The Blues failing to really get him on the ball there was little to take note of.
Marc Guiu (Jackson, 66) – 5
Less impactful than Nicolas Jackson, but in considerably less time.
For a player who can dominate physically, he looked a little intimidated by the Manchester City defence and wasn't really presented with any chances.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Lavia, 67) – 5
Many Chelsea fans were disappointed to see Romeo Lavia come off after a good performance, and Dewsbury-Hall failed to add any of the attacking prowess we saw in the Championship last season.
Renato Veiga (Cucurella, 80) – 5
He didn't have enough time to impact the game after replacing Marc Cucurella, who had more time to establish himself as one of Chelsea's better performers.
“Gallagher, alongside Cole Palmer, was the only positive player last season. Even if he leaves Chelsea, I don’t want to see him leave the Premier League.
“He deserves more than what’s happening to him with Atletico Madrid. Gallagher belongs in England, he’s built up his career through loan moves and then became captain at Chelsea.
“He deserves better than this. Why are Chelsea getting rid of their best midfielder for loads of unknown young stars?
“It’s a massive gamble to splash millions on these foreign players. If I was Gallagher I’d be so p****d, it’s a pity.”
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Ivan Toney was left out of Brentford's opening match of the 2024/25 Premier League season due to transfer interest from elsewhere.
Newcastle have reportedly made a fourth bid worth £65million for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi.
Chelsea are in talks with Atletico Madrid regarding a permanent move for Joao Felix.
Should an agreement be reached, it could resurrect the sale of Conor Gallagher to the Spanish giants.
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