MARTIN KEOWN: I see signs of Chelsea gelling with Conor Gallagher as a No 10
It is ominous that Manchester City are already sitting at the Premier League summit, having waited until last season’s run-in to reclaim the position they see as their rightful territory.
City are where Sunday's opponents Chelsea desperately want to be. Instead, all they have to show for Todd Boehly’s tenure is a £1billion bill on player purchases, four different managers and zero sign of being involved in this season’s title race.
Yet having studied Chelsea this week, I see the makings of a good team forming under Mauricio Pochettino, despite this club's fall from grace. They haven’t had the best luck with injuries – six currently sidelined with £58million Romeo Lavia still awaiting his debut – but the XI that beat Tottenham on Monday is stacked with talent.
With some fine-tuning, I see no reason why they cannot thrive together. It starts with the evergreen Thiago Silva at the back, still their best player in my eyes at 39. He is defying Father Time, exuding calmness and building attacks from the back. Both midfielders in front of him, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, signed for a combined £221.8m, are 22 and can form a formidable pairing over time with the protection they provide.
Conor Gallagher is playing in his rightful position at No 10 – precisely where he flourished on loan at Crystal Palace – particularly as Pochettino likes to play a very high pressing game.
Gallagher relentlessly runs from midfield to join the front three of Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Raheem Sterling in closing down opposition defenders. He does that so well that nobody in the Premier League has regained possession in the final third more than him this season.
Palmer has settled quicker than any of Chelsea’s other signings since leaving
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