Charlton plead with Chelsea to keep Conor Gallagher in ‘perfect place’

Chelsea Loan Army standout Conor Gallagher has at least seven admirers, all of whom are doing better than Charlton Athletic, who are stuck near the relegation zone of the Championship. With the prospect of a potentially tougher challenge available for the second-half of the season, Chelsea are reportedly considering the possibility of switching the 19-year-old’s assignment.

While Addicks director of football, Steve Gallen has revealed that Chelsea haven’t contacted him (yet) regarding any such intentions, he’s certainly hoping that they won’t.

“First thing to say is what a good player. We’re so pleased with how well he has done. Chelsea have been superb in lending him to us.

“It’s a season-long loan and we’ve had different people come in from Chelsea over the past few months and they are very, very pleased with their progress. And so we want to keep him until the end of the season.

”But of course he is a Chelsea player and there is a recall in January so they can call him back. They’ve not indicated to any of us if they plan to do that.”

-Steve Gallen; source: Football.London

Addicks manager Lee Bowyer has put in a pleading word as well, promising to return Gallagher a much improved player if he gets to stay at the “perfect place” for his development.

“I believe this is the right place for him to develop. He’s had six months of highs and lows. You want to enjoy winning and look after the player but at the same time you need to turn him into a man. That’s what is happening here. He is getting tested in very different ways. The winning side, the losing side, the physical side. In an ideal world he’d have a little rest but we can’t do that with him at the moment.”

“This is the perfect place for him, which is important when you’re young. It just fits. He’s going to keep improving, keep scoring goals and will go back to Chelsea as a better player.”

-Lee Bowyer; source: Football.London

So far it’s unclear what Conor himself might be thinking at the moment, though some reports have claimed that he’d like to stay. Hopefully we can make the best decision for his future.