Sold for £20m: Chelsea should regret selling a “leader” who’s now outscoring Gallagher
It’s been another rough season for the Chelsea faithful this year, as their summer spending hasn’t translated to any improvements on the pitch.
After their win over Newcastle United, Mauricio Pochettino’s side are still in 11th place in the Premier League and look miles off European qualification.
However, while several of the team’s stars have seen their stock fall over the campaign, Conor Gallagher’s has risen.
The talented midfielder is one of the few players at the club who has given his everything to the team this year, although a former Blues star is currently outscoring him away from West London.
Conor Gallagher’s transfer valuation in 2024
A boyhood Chelsea fan, Gallagher has taken on a lot of responsibility under Pochettino this season despite it being just his second campaign of regular football at Stamford Bridge.
The Epsom-born gem has made 37 appearances for the first team this year, scoring four goals and providing seven assists, including the winner against bitter rivals Leeds United in the FA Cup last month.
However, with Reece James and Ben Chilwell missing large chunks of the campaign through injury – again – the 24-year-old has captained the team on 17 occasions.
Gallagher’s recent form and growing importance to the Blues has seen his valuation significantly increase over the last few months.
According to Football Transfers’ Expected Value model, the 6-foot ace was worth just €27m – about £23m – in October but is now worth around €39m, which is about £33m.
However, a player the club let go in the summer is now worth even more and has outscored the Englishman this year.
Christian Pulisic’s transfer valuation after leaving Chelsea
American international Christian Pulisic signed for Chelsea in January 2019 for around £58m, although he spent the rest of that season in Germany with Borussia Dortmund.
The Hereshey-born superstar made a promising start to life in the capital in the 2020/21 season, ending the campaign with six goals and four assists before improving the following season with eight goals and five assists.
However, for as good as he looked when on the pitch, the 5 foot 10 maestro couldn’t remain fit, and over his four years in England, he missed 65 games for club and country before he was eventually sold to AC Milan last summer for just £20m, a staggering £38m loss.
Now, moving from one of the biggest clubs in England to arguably the biggest club in Italy was a move that could have quickly gone wrong for the USMNT star, but so far, it hasn’t.
In the eight months since his move, the natural “leader”, as Jurgen Klinsmann dubbed him, has made 37 appearances, scored ten goals, and provided seven assists, even though he’s missed six games through injury. That’s a great deal better than Gallagher, even if Pulisic is playing in a more advanced role on the field.
The resurgence of the 25-year-old “magician”, as described by sports writer Al Butler, has unsurprisingly sent his value soaring as well.
According to Football Transfers’ Expected Value model, the 64-capped international was worth just €29m – £25m – in October but is now worth a whopping €52m, which is about £44m and £11m more than the aforementioned Gallagher.
Ultimately, it made sense for Chelsea to sell Pulisic when they did due to his injuries and deteriorating form. Still, with how well he’s since played in Italy, it would have been interesting to see what Pochettino might’ve been able to get out of him over the course of a season. After all, one of the men tasked with replacing him in Mykhailo Mudryk has also scored fewer this term (6)
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