Chelsea could sign "sensational" £60m Conor Gallagher upgrade
da dobrowin： Chelsea have spent a couple of Premier League seasons embroiled in muddy mediocrity, but every dog has its day and Todd Boehly’s scattergun spending might just be shaping into something more streamlined.
da bet sport： Replacing Mauricio Pochettino with Enzo Maresca was a move that raised eyebrows, but the Blues now have a project manager who is inculcating a ball-playing style in the mould of his former master Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola, football’s tactical doyen, has seen his influence stretch into a host of corners across Europe, with Maresca his latest disciple to take the reins at a high-profile club with more than just shades of his playing style.
Maresca’s new imprint has seen divisive rumours surrounding Conor Gallagher’s future, with the England international seemingly the latest Cobham graduate to be shown the exit door.
Conor Gallagher's Chelsea future
It’s a convoluted situation. Gallagher has turned down a contract extension at Chelsea but remains open to extending his stay at Stamford Bridge.
The issue is that the 24-year-old, who started 37 top-flight matches last year, will be consigned to a squad role if he remains, something he is unwilling to agree to.
Gallagher’s strengths ostensibly do not align with the fluent design of Maresca’s set-up, and so, with one year left on his deal, Chelsea are searching for a solution.
Should the cogs all fall into place and Gallagher be shipped on, the west Londoners may well seek a replacement, and there might be no more suitable transfer target than Morgan Gibbs-White.
Why Morgan Gibbs-White could replace Conor Gallagher
Nottingham Forest signed Gibbs-White from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a figure rising to £42m in 2022, and he has established himself as one of the Tricky Trees’ most important players since his arrival.
There have been several outfits sniffing around for the Englishman, with Nuno Espirito Santo and his transfer team consequently listing their midfield talisman at £60m earlier in the window. Gibbs-White still has three years left on his deal, so completing a move this summer will come with its difficulties.
And indeed, according to transfer specialist Graeme Bailey – as reported earlier this week – Chelsea continue to show an interest in the £80k-per-week talent (alongside a host of rivals including Aston Villa and Newcastle United), though Forest are unwilling to sell their star man in the middle.
His ability to split opponents in two with incisive deliveries highlights the kind of strengths that have seemingly arrested Chelsea’s interest of late, and if Gallagher is sold to Atletico Madrid, there may well be a revised sense of optimism that the financial means to sign the player are within reach.
After all, despite Forest spending both of their two top-flight campaigns struggling against the threat of the drop zone, Gibbs-White has still posted 11 goals and 18 assists for his outfit, even being praised for his “sensational” performances by journalist Josh Bunting.
Premier League 23/24: Conor Gallagher vs Morgan Gibbs-White
Stats (*per game)
Gallagher
Gibbs-White
Matches (starts)
37 (37)
37 (35)
Goals
5
5
Assists
7
10
Pass completion
92%
77%
Big chances created
11
16
Key passes*
1.4
2.0
Ball recoveries*
6.0
5.1
Dribbles completed*
1.3
1.2
Total duels won*
5.7
5.3
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see, Gallagher is a more accomplished box-to-box midfielder, but he’s not as naturally creative, is not capable of unlocking backlines with the same kind of fizz and sharpness.
Gibbs-White – who “adds the chaos” according to data analyst Ben Mattinson – ranked among the top 13% of positional peers in the Premier League last season for passes into the final third and the top 14% for through balls per 90, as per FBref.
One analyst has also hailed him for being a “monster in transition”, which further corroborates the point that he has the requisite skillset for success under Maresca’s wing, with the Italian tactician dominating on the ball with Leicester City last season en route to winning the Championship, retaining 62% of possession on average.
The Foxes also completed 48 progressive passes per game last term, as opposed to 42 per match for Chelsea in the Premier League. This speaks of faster, more fluid play at Stamford Bridge this year, with Gibbs-White sure to flourish in the system.
There’s no denying Gallagher’s influence in Pochettino’s midfield last season, with his high-level athleticism and tenacious approach providing the kind of energy and optimism needed – the Argentinian manager even hailed him as “priceless”, though such wording seems to have been negated in hindsight.
But he was also found to lack a clinical touch in final phases, with a bit of technical quality lacking at crucial moments; Chelsea football writer Will Faulks said that he ‘is going to have to add that technical polish to his game’, and now that the managerial cogs have shifted, it seems he has been left behind.
Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo operate in deep-lying positions in the Chelsea engine room and complement each other with contrasting individual strengths. Gallagher, perhaps, is understandably being viewed as a utility option of sorts by the club’s new boss, who is shouldering the weight of responsibility to lift a fallen giant back to the limelight.
Gibbs-White would dovetail into the central triumvirate, more seamlessly, more successfully, with his ball-playing expertise serving as a conduit between the midfield base and the final third, enhancing and enriching ahead of a new era.
It’s tough, and Gallagher’s prospective departure will understandably rankle more than a few staunch Chelsea supporters, but if Maresca can’t promise him a regular starting berth, perhaps it could be a move that works out for all parties – especially if Gibbs-White makes his way down to the capital.
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