Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino is playing Conor Gallagher in the wrong position, former Blues defender William Gallas has said.
Gallagher Gallagher has played in three different roles for Chelsea this season – 19 times in attacking midfield, 15 in central midfield and four in defensive midfield.
William Gallas has shared his thoughts ahead of the Blues’ clash against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, about getting the most from the 24-year-old, with Chelsea backing him in a statement on Wednesday.
‘Gallagher has different qualities, and you have to put players around him who can make the difference,’ Gallas told Gambling Zone.
‘He’s not a playmaker, he’s a ball-winning-midfielder, physically he can run a lot and press very high.
‘This means that around him, you need players with different qualities, like a playmaker who can play very quickly between the lines, giving good assists.
‘Gallagher doesn’t do that and that’s why it doesn’t work for Chelsea with him in that position.
‘It looks like the three players, Gallagher, [Moises] Caicedo and Enzo [Fernandez], don’t really match each other.
‘That is a problem, so it shows how, at board level, they don’t really have any vision and they just buy players for the sake of buying players.
‘You don’t buy players like this, when you buy players you have to know if he’s going to fit into the squad and if it’s going to be a good match for the other players. This problem shows that the board didn’t have a strategy.’
Gallagher is drawing interest from several Premier League teams, including Tottenham, but the Englishman is eager to stay and compete for his future at Chelsea..
Meanwhile, Gallas has described Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Burnley last time out as a ‘extremely disappointing’ result.
‘It was very difficult to see Chelsea against Burnley, because, as a former player, to see that club in that position is very hard,’ the Frenchman added. ‘It was an extremely disappointing performance again from a Chelsea team who are going nowhere it seems.’
