Chelsea have already gifted Mauricio Pochettino 'next Dele Alli' as Tottenham tactics rewritten. Conor Gallagher has already proven that he could play the 'Dele Alli role' for Chelsea this season. The 23-year-old midfielder has been briefly linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge this summer as Mauricio Pochettino looks to trim down a bloated Blues squad.
football.london understands that Gallagher is considering his future in west London having been subject to plenty of interest from numerous clubs in the Premier League. It's believed that Tottenham are among those who are keen on the England international , with Ange Postecoglou a big admirer.
Newcastle United and West Ham have also expressed an interest in Gallagher, who sees his contract expire in two- years. It remains to be seen whether Pochettino will look to cash in on the Cobham graduate after Chelsea have already offloaded N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount from their midfield this summer.
Gallagher featured 35 times for the Blues in the English top- flight last season, scoring just three times. Despite only averaging 46 minutes an appearance and a shy goal return, he's previously proved why he's worthy of fulfilling the 'Dele role' under Pochettino.
In the season before last, Gallagher enjoyed a great vein of form while out on loan at Crystal Palace, scoring some significant goals against the likes of Tottenham and Manchester City. However, it was his equaliser against West Ham which could catch the Argentine's eye.
The Eagles found themselves 2-1 down with 20 minutes to go (after Gallagher had already halved the deficit) and in- possession on the left-wing. While Wilfried Zaha looked to fashion on opening, Gallagher drifted into the box and essentially became a third striker alongside Christian Benteke and Jordan Ayew.
As a cross was fired into the area, the Chelsea ace brought the ball under control to beat Craig Dawson before performing a Cruyff-turn and launching a ferocious effort past Lukasz Fabianski. That passage of play exemplified Gallagher's unique combination of spatial awareness, technical skillset and eye for goal – of which can be compared to Dele, who enjoyed a meteoric rise to superstardom in a similar role under Pochettino at Tottenham.
According to The Athletic , Pochettino has begun to implement his tactical ideas on the training pitch, albeit at a minimum due to players being at various stages of their fitness programmes. The report states that the 51-year-old is leaning towards a 4-2-3-1 formation with the full-backs pushed high.
It's said that he also wants a creative No.10 – step forward Christopher Nkunku and Conor Gallagher – and his striker to lead a high press with the aim of winning back possession at the top end of the pitch.