Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher is a “tremendous” player with so much to love about him game.
However, the 23-year-old’s one weakness is that he’s not a natural leader.
That is according to pundit Graeme Souness.
Conor Gallagher, who’s a product of the Chelsea academy, has grown into a really important first-team star at Stamford Bridge this season.
The central midfielder has pretty much been a nailed-on starter in Mauricio Pochettino’s side, even captaining them during the injury absence of both Reece James and Ben Chilwell.
Souness is actually a big admirer of Chelsea’s Gallagher for his overall game, but he’s raised a concern about a lack of leadership from the stand-in captain.
He told The Daily Mail: “It looks to me like they don’t have any real leaders. Connor Gallagher has been captain on some occasions and when you watch him play, there’s nothing to dislike. Good technically. Good athlete. Tremendous attitude. But is there that presence in the dressing room and beyond where others would be seeing him as their leader?”
It’s a fair point that this very young and inexperienced group is really lacking in leaders barring some rare exceptions.
Conor Gallagher is not a leader
Gallagher does lead by example with his performances on the pitch, but we agree that he’s not got that aura about him you look for in inspirational skippers.
The Telegraph claimed earlier this week that Gallagher’s closest people don’t actually view him as a natural leader.
We’ve got no doubt that the all-action midfielder belongs in the XI with his consistent displays, but it will be a relief when the armband is passed on to a teammate.
Thankfully, Ben Chilwell’s return from injury is imminent. Pochettino confirmed yesterday that Chilwell is going to return to Chelsea’s matchday squad on Saturday versus Fulham. We expect the vice-captain to take the armband once fit again.
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