'Terrible mistake': BBC pundit says 21-year-old definitely should not be at Chelsea next season
Garth Crooks told Conor Gallagher that he would be wise not to link up with Chelsea after the campaign concludes.
The 21-year-old made Crooks’ BBC Team of the Week for his brilliant brace against Everton last night.
No stopping Conor
Gallagher can do very little wrong in a Palace shirt right now and his double at Selhurst Park proved he is improving by the day.
Six times now this season the England international has rippled the back of the net, all strikes arriving in the Premier League.
His second yesterday was arguably the pick of the dozen.
In the dying embers of the match, with the scores 2-1 in Palace’s favour, the young midfielder let fly a curling, stinging effort from 18-yards that sailed into the top corner.
That corner of South East London erupted to the tune of their new hero and not for the first time in the last few months.
Patrick Vieira will be hoping the Eagles faithful will be able to sing Gallagher’s name for years to come, if they can sign him permanently over the summer.
A move that Crooks highly recommended the Cobham academy graduate heavily consider.
“The Chelsea player, on loan to Palace, continues to impress at Selhurst Park,” said the former Tottenham Hotspur forward.
“The only problem with this is that he is either going to cost Patrick Vieira too much money to buy – or worse he stays at Chelsea, which in my view would be a terrible mistake by the player.”
Heading back to he Blues?
At this exact moment in time, returning to Stamford Bridge would not be the worst decision in the world.
Thomas Tuchel is living through an injury dilemma in his central midfield, a burden that would be lifted by Gallagher’s presence.
N’Golo Kante is side-lined, Mateo Kovacic remains isolated, whilst Jorginho continues to play through back pain.
Ross Barkley and Saul Niguez simply cannot be trusted in the biggest occasions.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek picked up a knock ahead of the Zenit St. Petersburg, so his body is still clearly prone to attracting problems.
Throw Gallagher into the equation and the Blues’ situation looks a lot rosier.
Of course, Tuchel might have all his soldiers fully fit by the time the club’s hierarchy has to make a decision on the Palace loanee’s future.
Chelsea fans would certainly love to see one of their own back in his rightful home.
But sometimes for the good of the player, a permanent change of scenery is the best career move.
