Chelsea’s loan army has gotten a lot of stick recently for its failures. There are destined to be many given the sheer magnitude of the group, but there have also been a plethora of success stories. One of the major benefits the Blues have discovered from years of loaning prospects out is how to identify a successful loan destination from the get-go. There are bound to be some round pegs in square holes given all of the moving parts involved in everyday operations at a football club. Regardless, for the most part, Chelsea has gotten quite good at finding positive environments for its players to grow.
As the Blues prepare to launch another generation of talented academy graduates and developing players into senior football elsewhere, it’s time to dissect some of these destinations. Chelsea’s loan of Billy Gilmour to Norwich City is a perfect fit given the current circumstances at both clubs, for example. As preseason winds down and Thomas Tuchel begins to thin his team out, the day has now come where the team needs to make a decision regarding Conor Gallagher. However, Gallagher has reached the point in his development where league does not decide his destination, the midfielder needs the right fit.
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If Chelsea is going to send Conor Gallagher out on loan, it needs to be to the right destination.
If Gallagher is to depart—which is not a guarantee due to his immense talent and the lack of activity on the Blues’ part in the transfer market—he needs to go to a team where he will get valuable minutes. Many may question what this means after he recently returned from a Premier League campaign with West Bromwich Albion in which he played more than 2,500 minutes in the English top flight. It means that Gallagher should be playing in a beneficial system amongst players of his quality. Anyone who watched the Baggies’ contests last season could tell you the Chelsea loanee was far better than a majority of his West Brom teammates.
A top half-to-mid table Premier League loan should be on the cards, but once again, the right fit is needed. Newcastle United is one of the clubs reported to be most interested in the midfielder with Leeds United also rumored. Both of these teams finished in the desired part of the table (12th and ninth respectively), but neither necessarily screams success.
Steve Bruce’s Newcastle is a ticking time bomb for multiple reasons. First and foremost, there is no guarantee the manager sees out the season Tyneside. Bruce was the subject of sack rumors throughout a majority of the 2020/21 campaign. Potentially subjecting Gallagher to four different managerial styles and tactics in two seasons is no way to go about developing a young player. On that note, Bruce typically lines up the Magpies with a three-man midfield. The Blues would ideally like to see Gallagher play an important role in a pivot as that’s what Tuchel currently deploys in SW6. Lastly, Newcastle plays sluggish, defensive football that contradicts the high intensity style Chelsea needs the 21-year-old to get accustomed to playing.
On the other hand, despite his halting the progress of Chelsea prospects in the past, Marcelo Bielsa would be the perfect manager to work with Gallagher. The problem with Leeds is its personnel. The Whites are no strangers to switching formations, but a two-man midfield is never out of the question on these occasions. Bielsa demands versatility and endurance from his players, which would help prepare Gallagher for life under Chelsea’s German gaffer. All of that being said, Leeds has two established midfielders already in Kalvin Phillips and Stuart Dallas. If Gallagher were to join up with the Blues’ historic rivals, his situation could look similar to that of Ethan Ampadu in Leipzig two seasons ago.
If identifying the ideal destination for young players was easy, everybody would do it. This article is not meant to pick out these options, but rather discuss the current links and why they should begin to worry Blues supporters. If these are the only two suitors for Gallagher—and I imagine they won’t be—Chelsea should allow him to remain in west London as a squad player seeing as it lacks depth in the middle of the park at the moment. The young midfielder would get more out of spending a year sitting behind the likes of N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic than he would rotting away on Leeds’ bench or attempting to save Newcastle from relegation.
What do you think the club should do with Gallagher next season? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!