With N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic out injured, Conor Gallagher steps into the Chelsea starting XI today, just as we predicted.
Thomas Tuchel was asked about this by the Fifth Stand App before kick off, and he pointed out how big this run could be for the academy product.
Tuchel on Gallagher: “It is a huge opportunity, N'Golo Kante is out
and Conor is more or less the same profile, so he gets the spot. Mateo Kovacic is injured so that's his game today and he does not have to prove to me today that he is capable.†[chelseafc] #cfc— CFCDaily (@CFCDaily) August 21, 2022
“It’s a huge opportunity,” Tuchel explained. “N’Golo Kante is out.”
It’s interesting to hear Tuchel refer to his midfielder as “the same profile” as Kante, even though he qualifies it with “more or less.”
Kante has more about him defensively, partly because of his physical qualities and partly because of his experience and natural reading of the game.
Gallagher can develop those parts though, and today provided a great opportunity to do just that.
Tuchel insists that Gallagher “does not have to prove” anything to him, but we all know his is a massive game for the youngster as he looks to force his way into the team long term.
