Conor Gallagher is accustomed to finding himself the odd man out in hugely expensive midfields, the everyman among the extravagant purchases. He is often part of a £222m trio at Chelsea, a number made all the more remarkable by the reality that the Londoner cost nothing. Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, however, commanded prices in excess of £100m and if Chelsea were the trailblazers, taking the cost of midfielders into previously uncharted territory, Gallagher could prove the sidekick to four men with nine-figure transfer fees. “Training and playing alongside midfielders worth £100-plus million pounds is good,” he said, with an element of understatement.
Arguably, no one else has more experience of it. While Jude Bellingham has withdrawn from the England squad to face Malta and North Macedonia, the sum Real Madrid paid to buy him could reach £114m. Declan Rice cost £105m. Such is Gallagher’s swift improvement that a player who has spent some of this season captaining Chelsea could be their regular partner in Euro 2024. Certainly, with Jordan Henderson in Saudi Arabia and Kalvin Phillips on the bench at Manchester City, Gallagher is presenting a more compelling case at club level.
