Gary Lineker’s The Rest is Football podcast had a good chat about Conor Gallagher today, with the former England striker coming up with some interesting takes on the midfielder’s move from Chelsea to Atletico Madrid, expected to be confirmed any minute now.
“I think that’s good for him. I think he’ll learn a lot over there. It did the world for Kieran Trippier at that particular club.
I think Conor Gallagher is one of those honest game players. Great presser. Over there he might well improve his technique as well.”
Lineker himself went to play in Spain and had a good experience, and it’s only recently that it’s become a common thing for England players again. We’re really excited to see Conor thriving in a new environment, and we think the fans at the Metropolitano are going to fall in love with him right away, just as our fans at Stamford Bridge did.
His hyperactive pressing is very crowd pleasing, and we’re sure Diego Simeone is going to love that and really tap into that.
Gary Lineker on Gallagher to Atletico Madrid:
🗣️ “I think that’s good for him. I think he’ll learn a lot over there. It did the world for Kieran Trippier at that particular club.
I think Conor Gallagher is one of those honest game players. Great presser. Over there he might… pic.twitter.com/m1HRhhacON
— Vince™ (@Blue_Footy) August 9, 2024
Niggling frustrations over midfielder’s tekkers
The obsession with Gallagher’s technique is something that must frustrate him a lot. Yes, it’s true that he’s never going to be Riquelme, but he’s hardly Collins John either. The idea that playing in Spain is suddenly going to revolutionise his short passing as though he hadn’t worked on that during a lifetime in one of the world’s best academies is crazy.
He certainly will learn to play and appreciate football in a different way out there, especially playing under such a unique coach as Simeone. We really think he can take his game to a new level, we’re just not going to make sound as simple as claiming he can just “improve his technique” by doing a few rondos in the sun.
