Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher has been linked with a loan move to Newcastle United as he searches for regular first team football ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Thomas Tuchel says Gallagher is welcome to stay and 'fight' for his place at Stamford Bridge but a loan move is a possibility. Tuchel has opted for N'Golo Kante and Jorginho as his central midfield pairing in their opening games against Everton and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.
Gallagher is set to face tough competition for the two midfield slots in Tuchel's line-up with Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek also in contention. However, an injury to Kante in Sunday's London derby against Tottenham Hotspur could offer him a potential route into the side.
The England international came on as an 89th-minute substitute in the Blues' win at Everton and was introduced in the 84th minute against Spurs to replace the injured Kante. His future is yet to be determined, but with the Newcastle links in mind, Chronicle Live has taken a look at what those closest to Gallagher have said about him.
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Patrick Vieira
"His work ethic is fantastic, always positive and the way he is on the field, he is the same off it. He's fantastic as a person and it's really good to have him. He stills has parts of his game that he needs to improve, but we when we're doing feedback on his game, the way he takes in the information and the way he translates it after on the field shows me, he's somebody that wants to improve."
Slaven Bilic
"[On comparisons with Frank Lampard] It isn't going to help the boy to have so much praise and I'm not a big fan of that but you can't help but notice it. He ticks those boxes. He plays in the same position, he has everything, and it's not a little bit of everything, it's a lot of everything. The only thing that concerns me, but only in theory, is whether he's going to be able to maintain this level of concentration and commitment when the praise starts to come to him, but he looks like he is. He's going to need the help of his family and his coaches and his managers, teammates and entourage, but the boy has everything on a big scale. He's going to be big."
Lee Bowyer
He's a good player. For us it was a bit of a gamble, he had never been on loan anywhere before and is only 19 so he's still learning the game. Whatever you tell him he does and I just kept encouraging him to get in the box and things are falling for him at the moment. His willingness and work rate are unreal so he's fitted in very well."
Steve Cooper
(Swansea City in 2020): "Anyone who sees him play can see how hard he works. He is adding value. He is not the loudest lad in the world and there is nothing wrong with that. He has fitted in really well."
Thomas Tuchel
"I am a huge fan of Conor. He is a fantastic guy, and this is what we already knew, in the first weeks of training, he has shown how much of a step he has made through having so much playing time through his personality on the pitch. We are happy with him. He keeps on fighting, and this is what he does. I think he has everything to become very important in the next years at Chelsea."
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