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Conor Gallagher: Enzo Maresca is wrong – I am technically good enough to play for Chelsea

Conor Gallagher was effectively forced out of Chelsea, his boyhood club, to balance the books
Conor Gallagher was effectively forced out of Chelsea, his boyhood club, to balance the books - Getty Images/Eddie Keogh

Mauricio Pochettino wanted him and made him captain. Diego Simeone definitely wanted him and spent £33.7 million to bring him to Atlético Madrid. And yet the word at Chelsea was that Conor Gallagher was apparently not technically good enough to fit into the style of play demanded by their new head coach, Enzo Maresca.

“I don’t think that’s true, personally,” the midfielder says of that harsh perception. “I think last season I had a good season with Chelsea and you could see by Pochettino playing me every game and showing his trust in me. And the fans appreciated what I did on the pitch. I’m very grateful for all of that and very thankful to the fans, and very thankful to Pochettino for giving me that platform to go and express myself and show the best version of myself at Chelsea.”

It is clearly a difficult conversation for Gallagher who does not want to say — despite Chelsea’s protestations otherwise – what everyone knows: that he was effectively pushed out of the club he loved, the club the 24-year-old joined at the age of six, to help balance the books.

While other young players, brought in by Chelsea’s ownership, were being offered multi-year deals — seven, eight, nine years — there was a much shorter contract on the table for Gallagher. The writing was on the wall. They wanted him to go. He had to go.

‘With Chelsea I have only got good things to say’

“Chelsea make their own decisions and they’ve brought in some top players on long contracts. That wasn’t the situation with me but, in the end, what happened is good for everyone, so everyone is happy,” the England international says.

He is determined to remain diplomatic and understandably so. “Honestly, with Chelsea I have only got good things to say. Amazing football club, my boyhood club where I grew up through the academy,” Gallagher argues.

“I am so thankful and grateful for everything they did for me in the academy and the first team. As for the fans, last season especially they really warmed to me which made me feel confident and good and very happy as well so I leave Chelsea with really special memories…the dream came through. The dream came true. So, I am very lucky.”

Nevertheless it was an unsettling summer. Gallagher knew at the European Championship in Germany that he was probably leaving Chelsea – and spoke to England team-mate Kieran Trippier, who spent three years at Atlético. “He gave me some really good advice and helped me a lot with my decision so I am very grateful to Tripps for that,” Gallagher says.

“As everyone knows, there was a lot going on over the few weeks that it was all happening with Chelsea and Atlético trying to agree a deal. Other situations came into it. But I was always very calm about the situation and I’m really happy with the outcome.”

Those “other situations” included the deal being on, then off, then back on again with Gallagher left in limbo after Chelsea’s move for forward Samu Omorodion collapsed and before they agreed a deal with João Félix instead. He spent five days in a hotel in Madrid, training on his own as he waited for Atlético to raise the cash to finalise his transfer.

“It was strange,” Gallagher admits. “But I was always confident that the deal would go through because of how the manager, Simeone, and the club spoke about me and to me. I felt very confident they were going to get the deal done.”

Gallagher has already made his debut for new club Atletico Madrid
Gallagher has already made his debut for new club Atletico Madrid - Getty Images Europe/Diego Souto

Now Gallagher will be a Champions League player at one of Spain’s biggest clubs and working with a “world-class” coach in Simeone. He was also afforded an extraordinary “unveiling” as he was joined by a motorbike gang and with fireworks as he made his way on to the pitch at the Civitas Metropolitano stadium.

“It is not a thing they do in England, is it?” Gallagher says. “It was a bit of a surprise to me and made me feel really excited. I could tell straight away how passionate the fans are even just from that.”

England did not ‘get enough credit’ for reaching Euros final

He certainly feels that the move to Spain can also benefit his career with England. “Of course. It’s a different style of football, different for my development. I can learn new things and improve as a player,” Gallagher says. “If I become a better player, I can help England as well, if I’m with the group. It can help.”

It is a “fresh” start also with England following the departure of Gareth Southgate – he was “brilliant for me”, Gallagher says – and with interim manager Lee Carsley taking over. Gallagher has processed the disappointment of losing the European Championship final to Spain and a tricky campaign in which he was in and out of the side as Southgate tried to find the right solutions for the centre of midfield.

Gallagher, who was being readied to come on in the final before England conceded the winner in the 86th minute, admits Spain were the better team but adds that England did not “get enough credit” for going that far.

Gallagher is in Lee Carsley's England squad for Nations League fixtures against Ireland and Finland
Gallagher is in Lee Carsley's England squad for Nations League fixtures against Ireland and Finland - PA/Nick Potts

Now another journey is beginning.

“I think, time-wise, it’s my third year with England. There’s a lot of new faces. But I still don’t feel like I’m a senior player,” Gallagher says. “I feel like I’ve got boundaries to get over. I’ve still got work to do to be a senior player on and off the pitch. I’m really happy to still be playing for England and I hope I can still develop and improve and be a bigger part of the team.”

First up is the Nations League tie away to the Republic of Ireland. Gallagher was in Dublin after the Euros, watching the All-Ireland hurling final at Croke Park between Clare and Cork. His girlfriend, Aine May Kennedy, is from Cork and Gallagher has family in Ireland.

It was, he says, a “friendly” occasion as he was spotted by fans. “I’d never watched a live game before of hurling and it’s very intense, I can say,” Gallagher says. It will also be intense for him and for England when they face Ireland on Saturday.

“Everyone knows what kind of game it is and what it’s going to be. It means so much to the fans and us as well,” he says. “We know how much it’s going to mean to the Ireland players. We’ve got to have the same mentality and we’re really looking forward to the challenge.”