Conor Gallagher ‘thrust’ into Chelsea’s first-team plans for next season — report

Conor Gallagher continues to impress on his loan at Crystal Palace, so much so that Thomas Tuchel is reportedly already penciling him in to “compete for a regular first-team role” at Chelsea next season. Gallagher has been a key player for Patrick Vieira’s side from day one, and has even set a new career high with seven goals scored, with a third of the season still to go.

We’ve heard similar rumblings earlier this season already, but a report from the Evening Standard today paints the most promising picture yet, adding that the young midfielder who recently celebrated his 22nd birthday has been “thrust” into our first-team plans, and could very well factor in to our (supposedly) planned summer pursuits of Aurélien Tchouaméni or Declan Rice — and save the club a ton of cash in the process.

At the very least, Gallagher is expected to provide depth to an “already well-stacked” midfield, though we do have to start acknowledging at some point that both Jorginho and N’Golo Kanté are on the wrong side of 30 and both will have just one year left on their contracts after this season. Some hard decisions may have to be made, and soon.