Chelsea’s contract strategy challenged by Conor Gallagher and Ian Maatsen’s hesitance — report

Under the Clearlake ownership, Chelsea have locked many players into long-term contracts lasting six to eight years. However, young talents Conor Gallagher and Ian Maatsen face an uncertain future as they are two out of three players — the other one being 38-year-old defender Thiago Silva — whose contracts expire in June 2025.

According to a report from the Athletic, both Gallagher and Maatsen are wary of extending their respective Chelsea contracts. The former, who has showcased his potential as a first-team regular and even captained the side last weekend against AFC Bournemouth, knows other players’ injury recovery might later reduce his starting chances. The latter, meanwhile, grapples with intense positional competition and uncertainty.

From Chelsea’s standpoint, the report claims they see the situation with both players as fluid. The Blues believe Gallagher has the potential to cement a long-term role at Stamford Bridge, especially given his recent performances. And Maatsen’s presence was deemed valuable enough that the club sanctioned Lewis Hall’s move to Newcastle United, indicating they see potential in the young Dutchman.

As we all know Chelsea’s broader strategy is to bind players to hyper-long contracts to reduce the risk of premature departures, and they want to extend both Gallagher and Maatsen. However, with evolving squad dynamics and external interests, they might be inclined to put more weigh on their chances of making it outside of Stamford Bridge before committing to the Blues for a few more years.