3 reasons why Chelsea must keep ever-improving Conor Gallagher

While referee Michael Oliver took a screwdriver to his audio equipment in the Selhurst Park tunnel before the second half, the Crystal Palace DJ filled the extended break with 'Three Little Birds' by Bob Marley and The Wailers.

Chelsea fans burst into an a cappella version of the chorus when Conor Gallagher fired the visitors level within two minutes of the delayed restart. After Gallagher blasted Chelsea to an unlikely victory in stoppage time, every little thing briefly felt like it would be alright for the west London outfit.

However, Chelsea were willing to offload Gallagher for the right price during the January transfer window. With any fee for the academy graduate representing pure profit in the club's accounts, Chelsea may be tempted to part ways with Gallagher again this summer in a desperate bid to keep up with the division's financial regulations.

Here's three not so little reasons why getting rid of Gallagher would be a bad move for the Blues.

Mauricio Pochettino has made his deep admiration of Gallagher abundantly clear by handing him more Premier League starts (23 out of a possible 24) than any other teammate.

As the Argentine pointedly said during the height of transfer speculation in January: «If Conor is playing for me it means he's performing; it means he's a player we count on.»

Chelsea committed more than £300m on central midfielders alone throughout 2023, but the one that joined their academy as an eight-year-old has made himself far more integral to Pochettino's setup than the mercurial Enzo Fernandez or Moises Caicedo. To underscore the point, Pochettino has hailed Gallagher as «priceless».

BlueCo, the consortium which purchased Chelsea in 2022, parted ways with three managers last season — more than the