With Crystal Palace’s FA Cup semi-final showdown with Chelsea now just days away, manager Patrick Vieira will be thinking long and hard about who to replace Conor Gallagher within the midfield.
The 22-year-old has featured in every round of the FA Cup but will be unable to participate in Sunday’s semi-final at Wembley after the Blues rejected a request from Palace to give him a special dispensation to feature. Instead, Gallagher will have to watch from the sidelines as his current teammates battle against his parent club in the Eagles’ biggest game of the season.
His absence will be a big blow for Vieira but one that he has had time to prepare for, though there aren’t too many players available for him to replace Gallagher with. Finding someone who can replicate the loanee’s work rate is nigh-on impossible, while with eight goals to his name, there isn’t another midfielder in the squad who has contributed to more goals than he has.
