Mauricio Pochettino finally gets Chelsea wish after $62m transfer decision made two-years late

Numbers, as they say, don't lie. Crucially for Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino the numbers tell quite the story.

From pre-season until now no player has played more minutes for the Blues than Conor Gallagher. The 23-year-old has started nine of the 10 games so far this term, all eight in the league, and has worn the captain's armband now in five of them. Gallagher was nearly sold towards the end of the summer.

If there's ever a way to anger a manager then it's to publicly make one of their most trusted players viewed as far from indespensible. The reality at Stamford Bridge is that Gallagher is undroppable but the actions from the board indicate a very different story.

Heading into deadline day there was very little for Chelsea to actually do but, via consistent reports and briefs from the club, it became apparent that keeping a Chelsea fan with a track record of impressive Premier League displays wasn't something of much importance. Although things never truly kicked on and Tottenham didn't make an offer, it never felt like it was out of equation.

Quite how a player can be seen in such contrasting lights by two factions of the club at the same time is remarkable but the cream often rises to the top and Gallagher really is worthy of his place. He is in the top five players in the squad when it comes to shots, passes, progressive passing distance, shot creating actions, tackles, blocks, interceptions, clearances, touches, take-ons, carries and times fouled.

It was previously slightly to his detriment that Gallagher had such versatility and wide-ranging skills. His off-ball work was commonly used alongside hussle, tenacity, lung size and sheer energy as the main reason for him but across the board he is now showing what a