Sport
Crystal Palace should enjoy Conor Gallagher while they can
Conor Gallagher collected possession on the edge of his own area and surveyed his options. The Crystal Palace midfielder then played an inviting ball into the path of Michael Olise, who galloped into the Manchester City half.
The substitute carried the ball all the way to the other end of the field, then put Wilfried Zaha through on goal. He was unable to get a shot away but did manage to fire a pass back towards Olise on the other side of the penalty area. His one-touch lay-off was met by a thumping finish from Gallagher, just 18 seconds after he had possession of the ball at the other end of the field.
The Chelsea loanee’s victory-sealing goal against Manchester City on Saturday was just the latest example of his boundless energy. Patrick Vieira deserves huge credit for instantly putting his stamp on this Palace team, but it would not have been possible without the addition of several key players in the summer. It is difficult, for instance, to imagine Palace’s pressing game being quite as effective without Conor Gallagher.
This is the midfielder’s second season in the Premier League after a loan spell at West Bromwich Albion last term. Gallagher looks much happier at Selhurst Park than he was at The Hawthorns. West Brom struggled under both Slaven Bilic and Sam Allardyce, and Gallagher was unable to have much of an impact on their season. He certainly did not seem to enjoy his football quite like he is now.
Vieira has favoured a 4-3-3 formation this season with Conor Gallagher and the impressively evergreen James McArthur either side of a holding player, usually one of Luka Milivojevic or Cheikhou Kouyate. The two outer midfielders have been integral to Palace’s more aggressive and proactive approach without the ball.
Only Allan has made more pressures than McArthur this season, while Gallagher is joint-third alongside Pablo Fornals and Sean Longstaff. McArthur is also second only to Allan for pressures in the middle third, with Brentford’s Christian Norgaard the only other player ahead of Conor Gallagher.
The 21-year-old combines energy and bite with quality on the ball. No player in the Palace squad has scored more goals than Gallagher, who has now found the net three times. He has also provided two assists and has linked up well with the players ahead of him. Zaha in particular appears to appreciate what Gallagher brings to the team.
There is already talk around Selhurst Park about whether Conor Gallagher is Palace’s greatest ever loanee. He is certainly in the conversation and would surpass the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ashley Cole, Kevin Phillips and Mamadou Sakho if he continues to play like he has in the opening 10 games. That is a double-edged sword for Palace, though. If Gallagher stays at this level for the whole campaign, it will be extremely difficult for the Eagles to land him on a permanent deal.
Chelsea were happy to sell Marc Guehi to Palace and Tino Livramento to Southampton in the summer, but they were adamant that Gallagher could only leave on a temporary basis. That suggests the Blues see a first-team future for the youngster, and nothing they have witnessed so far this term will have disabused them of that notion. Gallagher has been one of the Premier League’s standout midfielders so far this season. Crystal Palace should enjoy him while they can.
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