Premier League clubs circle £9m-rated Chelsea product

Mason Mount, Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Kai Havertz and Billy Gilmour – there isn’t much room to break into Chelsea’s central midfield. 

Despite a disappointing second-consecutive FA Cup final loss, the Blues could yet win a second Champions League in the club’s history with this combination of midfield options – with a final to come against Manchester City.

But, the task ahead for the likes of on-loan West Brom Conor Gallagher is exactly that, to break into that midfield – if they want a future at the London club.

That’s why Premier League clubs Leeds and Aston Villa are favourites to land the 21-year-old, with the Yorkshire Evening Post reporting that Chelsea will accept a £9m offer.

The report also details how his parent club could opt to loan him out for another season, with the England Under-21 international impressing in 29 Premier League appearances for the Baggies.

Conor Gallagher pictured alongside his Chelsea teammates and the Europa League trophy in 2019

In that time, he has scored twice and laid on two further assists – although has demonstrated something of a discipline problem, amassing a huge ten yellow cards in that time.

Leeds were linked with a move for Gallagher already last summer, and his dynamic play would be a good fit with Marcelo Bielsa’s high-energy, high-octane football.

This West Brom spell is already his third out on loan from Chelsea, with Roman Abramovich’s club not shy of sending players out for repetitive spells.

Currently, 33 players are on loan at various clubs from the Stamford Bridge-based side, with Gallagher certainly amongst the highest-ranked of the bunch.

Gallagher has also been a regular feature at every England age group since Under-17 – does he need a future with Chelsea or a future away from the club, if he was ever to break into the senior international fold?