Gareth Southgate showered Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher with praise after handing him an England call-up for the World Cup in Qatar.
Three Lions manager Southgate named his 26-man squad for the World Cup earlier today, with Gallagher joined by club teammates Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling in the travelling group.
Gallagher, who’s been in and out of the England camp in recent international breaks, has made the final cut for Qatar.
The box-to-box midfielder has made 17 appearances so far this season for Chelsea, growing into his role as a first-team player at Stamford Bridge.
Aged 22, you’d suspect he’s an individual that can have a long England career ahead of him.
However, Southgate has enough faith in him to take him to Qatar.
Conor Gallagher call-up
When discussing Gallagher’s inclusion in the squad, Southgate highlighted an area of his game that is “fantastic”.
England’s boss loves what the 22-year-old can do when pressing off the ball, with his relentless energy an area of his game that’s well-known.
“He’s fantastic at pressing the ball. I think there’s going to be moments in these games where we need certain attributes… He’s not as experienced with us as some of the others, but he has an impact in games and a goal threat,” Southgate said.
“When you talk about midfield players, you look at do they stop goals, create goals, or score goals? He does a little bit of all of that.”
The early signs of Graham Potter’s reign as Chelsea boss indicates he’s a fan of Gallagher.
If he can contribute in some way on a World Cup stage, his confidence should only rocket tenfold.
He was used off the bench in the midweek defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup, so perhaps he’s in line to start this weekend in the Premier League trip to Newcastle United.
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