It’s not really news that the futures of several homegrown players are uncertain, even if they played key roles throughout the season and especially during our promising run-in. But on Day One of Silly Season, The Telegraph is here to click-fully remind us that Chelsea are “expected to listen to bids for a number of homegrown players”, including of course Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah, and Armando Broja.
Of the three, Broja’s departure seems the most nailed on, with reports leading up to the end of the season already talking about it essentially being set in stone. The 22-year-old, who is coming off of ACL surgery, has not found much success throughout the season, be that at Chelsea in the first half or on loan at Fulham in the second half of the campagin. Assuming that Chelsea target a new center forward in the transfer market, Broja seems as good as gone.
There’s likely to be far more controversy about the other two names in The Telegraph’s report, though their situations haven’t really changed in the last twelve months either so none of that should come as a surprise. We were open to bids for both Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher last summer, too, and despite their excellent performances and importance in Mauricio Pochettino’s schemes — Gallagher led the team in appearances and minutes; Chalobah was practically ever present after recovering from injury — that evidently hasn’t changed.
If anything, other teams now might view the £50m asking price for Gallagher as a much more attractive proposition, while the supposed £25m asking price for Chalobah would surely be an absolute bargain.
None of that means that the two Cobham grads are good as gone, but certainly in Gallagher’s case, we would need to agree a new contract for him to stay. He has just one year left on his current deal; Chalobah is signed through 2028.
Sorting out these situations are among the highest priorities for the sporting directors this summer. Let’s get down to business. And by business I mean a new contract for Conor.