Petr Cech had a big say on who should stay at Chelsea and who should leave on loan during his time as technical and performance advisor at the club.
Conor Gallagher was one of those players who left Chelsea temporarily under Petr Cech‘s watch.
And the Blues legend has told Sky Sports that the midfielder was upset that he had to go out on loan in 2021, having preferred to remain at Stamford Bridge.
Gallagher joined Crystal Palace that year, and it actually turned out to be quite a productive loan spell for the 24-year-old.
He was a regular under Patrick Vieira, making 39 appearances in all competitions and scoring eight goals.
Conor Gallagher wanted Chelsea stay in 2021
Cech says he had to speak to Gallagher before his loan move to Palace because he was upset about having to leave his boyhood club again. It was his fourth spell away from Chelsea after temporary stints at Charlton Athletic, Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion.
“I had the conversation with him when he had to go on loan to Palace because he was upset,” Cech revealed. “He did so well in the pre-season. We almost wanted to keep him in the team.”
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The Chelsea icon also went on to add: “I spoke to Patrick Vieira at the time and he said, ‘I love the player; he will be my engine. If he plays well, he’ll play most of the time.’ “
Crystal Palace loan was great for Conor Gallagher
Again, in the end, the loan move worked out really well. He developed into a midfielder capable of scoring goals under Vieira, a midfielder who Chelsea now believe is worth £50m.
According to The Sun, the Blues value the Englishman at that figure.
He has rediscovered his goalscoring touch again, bagging a brace against Palace last night after netting versus Aston Villa in the game before that.
If Gallagher can maintain that, he definitely will be worth £50m. With his contract running down, though, Chelsea may not be able to get that much for him.
However, given his importance to the team, the club should not be looking to sell the England international anyway. Cech is tipping him to become a captain like Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt, who became Ajax skipper at just 19 years of age.