Chelsea prepare talks with leading midfielder to thwart Tottenham hopes once and for all

Chelsea want to sit down with Conor Gallagher to discuss the midfielder’s future as he approaches the final 18 months of his contract at Stamford Bridge, it has been revealed.

Gallagher has taken on a leadership role at Chelsea this season, starting all seven of their Premier League matches so far and wearing the captain’s armband in the last three. That’s despite the major investment Chelsea have made in his position this year with the signings of Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Lesley Ugochukwu.

Amid all the changes, Chelsea could have cashed in on Gallagher in the summer, when Tottenham Hotspur tried to sign him with a £40million bid. However, he once again opted to fight for his place in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.

Now, despite links with Tottenham persisting, the Daily Mail has reported that Chelsea are planning talks with Gallagher about the prospect of a new contract, which would ensure his long-term commitment to the club whose academy he came through.

Exactly when the discussions will take place has not been disclosed in the report, nor what the terms of a new deal would be when it comes to his salary and contract length.

West Ham were also linked with a move to keep Gallagher elsewhere in London over the summer, but they could not get their hands on him and would find it even harder if Chelsea protected themselves via a contract renewal for the 23-year-old.

Gallagher has already earned nine caps at international level for England and has been named in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the October international break, during which there will be matches against Australia and Italy.

For Chelsea, Gallagher has recently surpassed the milestone of 50 appearances, representing his progress since loan spells at Charlton Athletic, Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace.

He said on Monday, after a win over Fulham: “You know how much it means to me and how much I want to do well at Chelsea because it’s my club that I’ve supported my whole life, so to captain the club for a few games is amazing and I just want to keep trying to perform the best I can to help the team win games. So hopefully I can continue to do that.”

Chelsea are next in action on Saturday, when they visit Burnley in their last match before Gallagher (along with clubmate Levi Colwill and former Cobham graduates like Marc Guehi and Fikayo Tomori) signs off for England duty.

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