Former England and Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson has urged Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher to stay and fight for his place at the club next season. It comes as questions have arisen as to where his future lies in the summer.
The 22-year-old has impressed this season, spending a stint on loan with Crystal Palace. In 28 Premier League appearances, the midfielder has scored eight goals and assisted three, though his work-rate and pressing have been his most important asset at times.
This has led to Gallagher receiving an England national team call-up, making his debut for the senior team. Despite talks over his future, Thomas Tuchel has said he believes the player can be part of the squad: “I believe Conor can be a part of our squad and can play a role with us. But I am not the only one to decide. We need to speak after the season with everybody, speak after the season about what Conor wants, we need to see what the situation is and what role we have for him that he can fight for.
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"There needs to be something to fight, a role and perspective of where you are, where you can be, what you need to achieve. So we have to be very clear with him and he needs to be clear with us. Then we will sort it out. His development is extraordinary and outstanding.”
Palace chairman Steve Parish has openly admitted to wanting to sign the England international permanently in the summer, while other clubs have also been linked with a potential move. However, former defender Johnson believes that he should stay and fight for his place at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking to Bettingodds.com, he said: “Gallagher’s been doing well, impressing pretty much everyone. You just hope that he doesn’t go back to Chelsea and not get game time and that will slow his progress down. That’s going to be a tough one.
“For me he just needs to play. This is when they get some nice form and learn their trade a bit more. In terms of work rate, he works his socks off and it’s great to see.
“If I was Conor Gallagher and I had the choice of either remaining at Crystal Palace for another season on loan, trying to force your way into the first team at Chelsea, or making a move elsewhere, I would go back to Chelsea, fight for my place during pre-season - if you have a good pre-season then you could gauge how likely it is that you’re going to play - and if I wasn’t having a good pre-season then I would go back out on loan: go back, work hard, see what happens.”
It remains to be seen exactly where he may end up, whether that is back at Chelsea or elsewhere. However, Gallagher has shown his ability to fight it out in the Premier League to a top standard.
