At this crucial stage of the season, the actual football has thankfully taken over from transfer and contract talk in the main.
But with no game this week for Chelsea, plus the agony of our last result hanging in the air, it’s inevitable that this was going to be a period of looking ahead at what we will do this summer.
One thing that most fans would consider essential is getting Conor Gallagher to sign a new contract. He’s been one of the few players to emerge from this season with credit.
But as Bobby Vincent reports for Football.London, while Gallagher “wants to stay at Stamford Bridge,” there have been no “official talks over extending his deal.” There is no reason that would be the case, unless the decision has already been made to sell him as soon as possible once the window opens.
It’s not looking good for those of us who see it as essential to keep the lovable home grown academy player at the club.
The board of course seem to see things the other way around. Their priority is selling Gallagher to claw back some cash, desperately needed to avoid penalties from the Premier League or from UEFA for overspending.
Those in charge did a fantastic job of convincing large parts of the fanbase that Mason Mount had wanted to leave, and they got a good price for him too. However they’re going to be hard pressed to convince even the most credulous of Blues that a second home grown player in the space of 12 months refused to sign reasonable deals and pushed for an exit.
