Why Chelsea are letting a homegrown hero Conor Gallagher go - and how it could come back to bite them 

After 18 years at Chelsea, academy graduate Conor Gallagher is set to depart for Atletico Madrid in a deal understood to be worth £33m. The midfielder has a year left on his current terms but is understood to have turned down offers of a new contract lasting two to three years - a fraction of the length of the eight-and-a-half-year deal midfield colleague Enzo Fernández signed in 2023. 

Gallagher has been at the heart of Chelsea’s football for most of last season and it will cut deep for many fans to see the homegrown midfielder depart. So what’s behind the decision to cut him loose - and is it the wrong call? 

It’s not the first time that Gallagher has been linked to a move away from Stamford Bridge, especially as the club’s higher-ups seek to balance out eye-watering transfer spending. Gallagher, as an academy graduate, would represent pure profit on the books and help them toe the line of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.

This isn’t a new business strategy for Chelsea, who have reportedly made over £180m selling academy graduates since Todd Boehly took over as owner, and Trevoh Chalobah looks set for a similar fate after being excluded from their preseason US tour. However, Gallagher had previously stayed put through interest from other English clubs like Tottenham Hotspur and looked to be growing into an ever more influential role at Chelsea, taking the armband on several occasions last year - a move away didn’t seem to be a priority for either the player or the club in spite of the money to be made. 

This summer, things have changed. Part of this will be that the clock is ticking down on Gallagher’s current terms, and almost any outcome is preferable for Chelsea than losing him on a free transfer next year (possibly to a rival club). However, the apparent ruthlessness with which the club have treated him - reportedly banning him from first-team training - indicates not just that they want a resolution before next summer, but that they’re keen to get him out right now. 

Rather than a financial decision, this move looks more like a leap of faith in their new manager. Enzo Maresca’s influence is already being felt in this summer’s incomings - Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has been brought in after being effective under Maresca at Leicester, while Renato Veiga looks like a fine fit for his favoured style of play. But it could also be that Maresca is a key consideration in the decision to let fan favourites go.

Gallagher was reportedly told he would be a squad player under the new regime, which sounds inconceivable to some supporters after watching him start all but one Premier League game last season, helping them climb six league places from 2022/23 to 2023/24. He’s been crucial at both ends of the pitch, creating more big chances than Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernándes combined according to Premier League stats, and winning more of his tackles than them too.

But apparently he doesn’t fit Maresca’s plans for a possession-heavy style of play, and the club seem committed to backing their new manager’s vision. A lack of unity between the boardroom and touchline was one factor in Mauricio Pochettino’s departure from Chelsea after a single season, according to ESPN, and Todd Boehly would no doubt love a more sustainable working relationship than he’s perhaps had with the other four managers he has burned through. However, in trying to keep the head coach happy, Chelsea’s hierarchy might pay a heavy price in their relationship with the fans. 

Saying goodbye to an academy graduate is never easy, and it comes at a time of doubts about the direction of the club from some supporters. Replacing Pochettino with Maresca raised eyebrows in the first place and since then it hasn’t been plain sailing. The exclusion of Chalobah has rankled with many, as has a 4-2 friendly loss to Manchester City.

Though there have been positives like the acquisition of targets including Marc Guiu (none of which, notably, have been for the extortionate fees Chelsea fans have come to dread), things at Stamford Bridge are not exactly harmonious. Having to bid goodbye to an influential and long-serving midfielder in Gallagher will be a seismic change to Chelsea’s team - and if this decision doesn’t pay off, they’re likely to hear plenty about it from their fans.