Ever since the summer transfer window closed, there’s been an obsession inside and outside Chelsea with how the club balance the books.
There was so much spending over the course of the last 3 windows that some sales are going to be necessary, and top of the list of potential money makers is Conor Gallagher. Amid a lot of chaos he’s had a great season, and would fetch a really healthy price on the open market.
But there will be riots in the fanbase if the much loved homegrown kid is sold, and according to Dean Jones of GiveMeSport, it wouldn’t just be the fans who are annoyed:
“Obviously, Gallagher doesn’t want to leave Chelsea. He can’t even think about it at the moment, as far as I’ve heard, because he just doesn’t want it to happen. But if he does leave Chelsea, I have heard that him moving that far away from his family would not be ideal,” Jones reported.
“I think another club in London could work better, and we know Spurs are keen and that his homegrown status would help them. It really is still a case of wait and see because if Pochettino does end up staying beyond this season, he would be very angry to see Gallagher sold.”
Balancing the books
As far as we see it, there should be the opportunity to balance the books without selling Gallagher. There will have to be some unpopular sales, but if we can shift enough players at a good enough price, we would imagine that brings in enough money to mean that the midfielder can stay.
Ian Maatsen and Lewis Hall are all but gone, Trevoh Chalobah looks likely to go to. If we can secure permanent moves for Romelu Lukaku and players like Hakim Ziyech, even for modest fees, that should keep Gallagher in the building.
If he does go, and Pochettino is indeed “very angry,” he won’t be the only one.
