According to The Times, Crystal Palace believe Patrick Vieira can help them beat Newcastle and Everton to the signing of Conor Gallagher.
What’s the story?
Well, the 22-year-old spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Selhurst Park, where he impressed hugely.
Gallagher won four England caps during his time with Crystal Palace, and the south Londoners are now hoping that the strong relationship he forged with Vieira will help them re-sign him on loan once again.
It comes after Newcastle enquired about the Chelsea No.23 – elsewhere, Frank Lampard believes his ties with the Blues will help him fend off competition to sign the goalscoring midfielder.
The Times add that Crystal Palace hope the World Cup in November can convince Gallagher to come back to SE25, as he may ruin his chances of making Gareth Southgate’s squad if he spends the first half of the season on the bench.
Thomas Tuchel handed the Epsom-born just one minute of action in Chelsea’s opening game against Everton.
Gallagher scored eight goals in 39 appearances for Crystal Palace last season, while also providing five assists.
Conor Gallagher must choose Crystal Palace over Newcastle or Everton
In our view, Gallagher – who Chelsea value at £50m – would be a fool to go anywhere other than Crystal Palace if he has any hope of going to Qatar this November.
At Selhurst Park, he has a manager who knows how to get the best out of him in Vieira, as well as a squad who also know exactly how his game works.
November will come around quicker than people realise, and Gallagher risks missing out on the World Cup if he chooses Newcastle or Everton, and fails to acclimatise or break into the starting XI – or stays on the sidelines at Chelsea.
At Crystal Palace, he will walk straight into the starting XI after his heroics last season, and the Eagles would surely give him the best possible chance of going away with the Three Lions this winter.
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