Conor Gallagher got a very useful 90 minutes into his legs during Chelsea’s final game of pre-season.
The Blues wrapped up their pre-season tour of the United States against Borussia Dortmund on Thursday, so attention can now turn towards the Premier League opener against Liverpool in less than two weeks time.
Marius Wolf’s second-half goal, which did appear to be offside to the naked eye, put German side Dortmund in front. Afterwards, Blues youngster Mason Burstow, 19, did manage to find a late headed equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw.
We saw plenty of positives that Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino can take from the game. One slight concern will be Christopher Nkunku coming off with a suspected knee injury early into the contest, though.
Conor Gallagher started in a midfield pivot alongside Enzo Fernandez against Dortmund in the early hours of this morning.
Could this be the pair that starts in the centre of the park against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge?
There’s been plenty of transfer speculation this summer regarding Gallagher’s future, but he’s certainly not let it impact his performances in pre-season friendlies.
The 23-year-old central midfielder looked really assured on the pitch against Dortmund, especially looking a lot more comfortable in deeper areas and carrying out his energetic work off the ball.
The Evening Standard claimed this week that Gallagher is now expected to stay at Chelsea this season despite interest from West Ham in this window.
A selection of Blues supporters on social media really liked what they saw from Gallagher against Dortmund.
Here are some Chelsea fans on Twitter hailing the Englishman’s individual performance: