Tuchel says he will talk to Conor Gallagher over Chelsea first-team role

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Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel praised Connor Gallagher’s fine form at loan club Crystal Palace and addressed questions over the midfielder’s future.

The 22-year-old, who has already had seven goals and three assists for Palace, is arguably one of the best performers in the Premier League this season.

His meteoric rise has, perhaps inevitably, attracted a lot of interest from a number of other clubs, according to recent reports.

The obvious next step for the England international would be to break into Chelsea’s first team and possibly earn a regular spot in the team.

Based on his comments, Tuchel is clearly looking forward to working with the midfielder.

“It’s always a step, it’s another environment, and it just proves that every player needs individual solutions,” the German said about Gallagher in his press conference on Friday (via the club’s official website).

“We wanted to have him here, like I have said many times.

“In pre-season, I saw that he could have the chance to have an impact in our squad because he did a fantastic pre-season.

“He is a fantastic guy and cares so much about Chelsea because he is from the academy.

“It is very nice to have him around, and he was impressive in pre-season, but an opportunity came, and they [Crystal Palace] offered him a role which he took, obviously.”

Tuchel further added that he is impressed by Gallagher’s already taking “several steps” in his development.

Unsurprisingly, the manager would like to have a conversation with the midfielder next summer about being part of Chelsea’s first-team squad next season.

“The season is by far not over, and he needs to finish his season with Crystal Palace in the best possible way,” Tuchel explained.

“Then we will see what we want, what he wants, then we will have a talk, and we will decide. I am happy he is our player.”

A recent report from the Evening Standard even claimed that Tuchel could be prepared to alter his summer transfer plans to integrate Gallagher into his team.

The Blues had reportedly been looking at two long-term transfer target; West Ham’s Declan Rice and AS Monaco’s Aurelien Tchouameni.

Chelsea could, obviously, still make space for Gallagher and either of the two, but Tuchel also already has three key midfield options in N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, and Mateo Kovacic.

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