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Tom Coley

Chelsea drop early team news hint ahead of AC Milan amid Graham Potter selection dilemma

If anybody was doubting Conor Gallagher's discipline, being able to hold himself back from wheeling away in celebration in front of the adoring Chelsea fans after scoring his first goal for the club is restraint of a different level.

The 22-year-old has officially announced himself as in Blue following his last minute winner against former side Crystal Palace, and the whole moment was Gallagher in a nutshell. The drive into space to arrive when the ball popped to him, the finish itself, the grasping of the moment and the drama.

Gallagher became known for the timing of his play at Selhurst Park last season and captured the imaginations of the Palace fans. Now he's at Chelsea and his career just got catapulted.

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Although he had been talked about positively under Thomas Tuchel, the German ultimately failed to get the best out of Gallagher in the opening stages of the season. Albeit partly down to the youngster's erratic performances, but deploying him in an unfamiliar role didn't help.

Potter has already shown a move away from that with midfield set-ups that differ subtly but importantly from Tuchel's, and it allows for the former West Brom, Swansea and Charlton loanee to flourish. The chances were that Gallagher would always be given a chance under Potter, he's too good not to, but after his goal it would be harsh to leave him out against AC Milan.

It would be a big step up but Gallagher is a player that takes things on as they come and it would be a massive demonstration of faith from coach to player. His first senior goal for the Blues has proven his ability when in his preferred role, and Steven Warnock thinks his early season performances weren't down to a lack of quality: "When you talk about the red card and when he [Gallagher] played in a two, that's an over eagerness to impress," he said on SkySports.

"I wouldn't worry about that, that's 'I'm not playing enough, I want to try and get around the pitch and be busy and showcase what I can do.'

"It's over enthusiasm but I really like him, I think there's sides to his game he needs to clean up, in possession, he wins the ball back extremely well but he'll be delighted from a personal point of view because I think he'll improve under Graham Potter."

Potter watched as Gallagher scored a trademark goal against him last season. Now he has the midfielder in his own armoury and it's an exciting prospect to see just how far and where he can develop his game. At Brighton Potter was renowned for taking players on and Warnock has seen and heard good things about the new manager. "All of the players were talking about how he [Graham Potter] improved them, and I think Conor Gallagher will be one of those players that will buy into the type of person he is and will learn so much from him.”

Now Gallagher has to prepare himself to fight for a starting role with Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic the chosen holding two, but with his impact from the bench, Potter may well look to exploit Gallagher's rise in confidence, and Chelsea have dropped a small team news hint ahead of the game.

In a pre-match graphic posted on social media Gallagher is the player used to advertise the game against the Italian champions. Although this is far from a certainty and it could be riding the attention wave from the weekend, it goes hand in hand with a player that has earnt his chance after heroics in the league.

Chelsea's matchday graphic against Palace included Ben Chilwell and Kalidou Koulibaly. Chilwell played whilst the latter didn't, so it's not fool proof, but it may well be a hint as to what Potter could be planning ahead of his biggest game in charge.

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