Chelsea’s decision to sell ‘priceless’ player will now go down as one of Todd Boehly’s biggest mistakes

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Chelsea’s ownership has come under heavy criticism since taking over the club in 2022.

A lot of it has been justified, with Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali having made some really bad decisions in such a short space of time.

Sacking Thomas Tuchel and replacing him with Graham Potter was a disaster, for example, while many Chelsea fans are disappointed with the club’s failure to bring in a top striker.

There is one decision that Boehly and co made last year, though, that now looks truly terrible.

• READ MORE: Chelsea must resist the urge to sell summer signing as Todd Boehly handed great chance to make big profit this month

Conor Gallagher sale a real blunder

Chelsea sold Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid in a £33m deal, which helped to facilitate Joao Felix’s return to Stamford Bridge.

It was a move people questioned during the summer, and it is a move that has to be questioned even more now.

Chelsea have injuries in midfield presently, with Romeo Lavia just not able to stay fit. Last season, he was only able to make a sole appearance for the Blues, whereas Gallagher made an astonishing 50. Simply put, the 24-year-old proved to be a very reliable figure for Chelsea.

It is not just the above, though. Gallagher’s move to Atletico allowed Chelsea to bring Felix in, but there is already talk about the Portuguese being sold.

According to journalist Eduardo Burgos, the club have put Felix on the market just months after signing him. If true, what was the point of bringing him in and letting Gallagher go?

There were concerns about Chelsea breaching PSR, hence why homegrown talents like Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah were made available, but had this ownership not spent so recklessly, the Blues never would have found themselves in that situation.

All in all, this Chelsea squad needs Gallagher way more than Felix at this moment in time. The decision to sell the former now looks like an even worse one as Felix continues to be linked to AC Milan.

Mauricio Pochettino thought Conor Gallagher was ‘priceless’

While the Chelsea board and Enzo Maresca did not appreciate Gallagher, Mauricio Pochettino certainly did.

Not only did the Argentine use him on 50 occasions last season, but he also named him captain in the absence of Reece James and Ben Chilwell.

For Pochettino, Gallagher was “priceless”. When the former Chelsea boss spoke to BBC Sport and others about Gallagher last February, he said: “I think he is a player with a great commitment to the team. He is always trying to compensate in every situation, in offensive and defensive situations. It’s priceless to have a player like him.”

Going forward, Chelsea’s ownership must learn that the transfer market and trading is not the solution for everything. Sometimes what you need is already there.