Broadcaster and Crystal Palace fan Kevin Day has spoken about his worry when it comes to Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher and his future at the club.
Despite the fact Crystal Palace haven’t managed to get off to the best of starts this season, only picking up two points in the league and failing to pick up a win in all competitions, the 21-year-old midfielder has got off to a flyer during his first few games at Selhurst Park.
He has scored both – and indeed all – of Palace’s goals so far this season, whilst also leading them in a number of statistical categories such as tackles, key passes and crosses per game, and is currently their highest-rated player via WhoScored.
Speaking on The Price of Football podcast as part of a wider discussion of loan players and various clauses in their contract at the end of their loan spells, Day expressed his concern about how well the 21-year-old was playing and what effect it might have on him and the Eagles going forward:
“We’ve got the problem with Conor Gallagher. We’ve had some dreadful players on loan in the past, but Conor Gallagher already – I almost compared to Attilio Lombardo yesterday. But he’s already at that stage where we’re going, we want to get in touch with him and say ‘Can you tone it down 10%?’ because he’s playing so well that Chelsea will inevitably want him back.
“Because at the moment, he looks like he would get into Chelsea’s first team, so already he must have put £10m on his value, because it’s hard to get used to seeing young, intelligent energetic players wearing a Palace shirt.”
TIF Thoughts on Kevin Day’s comments about Conor Gallagher at Crystal Palace…
Will Palace get relegated this season?
Yes
No
This is always the danger when it comes to loan players, because as Day hints, if they show flashes of brilliance for your side, then the chances are that their parent club are going to start taking an interest and think about what they can do for them.
Having gone through a major rebuild this summer, it could potentially be disastrous for Palace if they were to be relegated, so all that a club in their position can ask for is that he helps them out during this season and ensures that they stay in the Premier League to give them a platform to build on.
Anything beyond that, perhaps another year on loan or turning the deal permanent, should be seen as a bonus. But Palace and their fans should just focus on one thing at a time for now, and that’s making sure that they can survive this first year under Patrick Vieira, and hoping that Gallagher can play a big part in that.
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