Conor Gallagher

Conor John Gallagher (born 6 February 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Chelsea and the England national team.

Beginning his career with Chelsea, Gallagher spent time on loan at EFL Championship clubs Charlton Athletic, Swansea City, and Premier League clubs West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace, between 2019 and 2022. At Crystal Palace, Gallagher was named the club's Player of the Year for the 2021–22 season. He subsequently made his first-team debut at Chelsea during the 2022–23 season.

After representing England at various youth levels, Gallagher made his debut for the senior national team in November 2021. He was a member of England's squad at both the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2024 UEFA European Championship.

Early and personal life
Gallagher was born in Epsom, Surrey to Lee and Samantha Gallagher and is the youngest of their four sons. He grew up in Great Bookham and attended Howard of Effingham School. His older brothers, Jake, Josh and Dan, are footballers at non-League level. Gallagher's family are Chelsea fans, and he lived a ten-minute drive from their training ground in Stoke d'Abernon.

Early career


After playing for Epsom Eagles, Gallagher joined Chelsea at the age of eight. In October 2018, he signed a new contract with Chelsea, contracting him to the club until June 2021. He had minor heart surgery that year. In May 2019, he was an unused substitute in the 2019 UEFA Europa League final, collecting a winner's medal. He was awarded Chelsea's Academy Player of the Year for the 2018–19 season.

2019–20 season: Loans to Charlton Athletic and Swansea City
In August 2019, Gallagher signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea and moved on loan to Championship club Charlton Athletic. After his first month with Charlton, in which he scored three goals in six matches, he won the EFL Young Player of the Month award for August. On 14 January 2020, Gallagher was recalled by Chelsea.

On 15 January 2020, the day after leaving Charlton, Gallagher joined Championship club Swansea City on loan for the rest of the 2019–20 season. During his time in South Wales, Gallagher was part of the Swansea team that reached the semi-finals of the Championship play-off, where they lost 3–2 to Brentford on aggregate. He later said that his time at Swansea allowed him to be more creative as a player.

2020–21 season: Loan to West Bromwich Albion
On 17 September 2020, Gallagher signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea, and joined fellow Premier League club West Bromwich Albion on loan for the 2020–21 season. On 28 November, Gallagher scored his first Premier League goal and his first goal for West Brom in a 1–0 home league win over Sheffield United. His only other goal for the club came in a 5–1 home defeat to future club Crystal Palace on 6 December.

Gallagher was named Albion's Young Player of the Season as the club finished 19th in the Premier League and were relegated to the Championship.

2021–22 season: Loan to Crystal Palace
In July 2021, Gallagher joined Premier League club Crystal Palace on loan for the 2021–22 season. He scored two goals in a 2–2 draw with West Ham United on 28 August 2021, his first goals for Palace. In November, Gallagher was subjected to homophobic chants from a group of Leeds United fans; the club issued a statement which condemned this. By the start of December, he had six goals and three assists for Crystal Palace, the most of any Premier League player aged 21 or under. On 15 April 2022, he was prevented by parent club Chelsea from playing against them in the FA Cup semi-final; Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel apologised for doing so. Chelsea went on to defeat Palace 2–0.

During his season with Palace, Gallagher was described by The Daily Telegraph as "one of the Premier League's most vibrant talents" and "a key player for Patrick Vieira", who was "thriving in his box-to-box role". For his performances with the club, he was later named Crystal Palace's Player of the Season.

2022–23
In July 2022, ahead of the 2022–23 season, Gallagher said he was determined to make a first-team breakthrough at Chelsea.

On 6 August 2022, he made his Chelsea debut, as a substitute, in a 1–0 away win against Everton in the Premier League. He made his first start for the club in a 3–0 loss to Leeds United at Elland Road on 21 August. In the following match, a 2–1 win over Leicester City at Stamford Bridge on 27 August, Gallagher received his first career red card for two bookable offences.

On 14 September, Gallagher made his UEFA Champions League debut as an 81st minute substitute for Mateo Kovačić in a 1–1 draw with RB Salzburg in the group stage.

On 1 October, Gallagher scored his first goal for Chelsea, a 90th-minute winner in a 2–1 away victory over his former club, Crystal Palace. This goal was later awarded Chelsea's Goal of the Season on 28 May 2023.

Gallagher scored further goals against Brighton & Hove Albion in April 2023 and Bournemouth in May 2023 to end his first season as a Chelsea first team player with three goals from 45 appearances.

2023–24
Ahead of the 2023–24 season, Chelsea rejected a bid for Gallagher from West Ham United.

On 31 August 2023, Gallagher captained Chelsea for the first time, in a 2–1 EFL Cup victory over Wimbledon. He captained the team for the first time in a league match on 17 September as Chelsea drew 0–0 with Bournemouth. Gallagher went on the regularly captain Chelsea throughout the 2023–24 season in the absences of regular captain Reece James and vice-captain Ben Chilwell.

On 7 February 2024, he scored his first goal of the season in an FA Cup fourth round replay win at Aston Villa. In the following match, he scored his first two Premier League goals of the season in a 3–1 away victory over his former club Crystal Palace on 12 February.

On 25 February, he was in Chelsea's starting line-up for the EFL Cup Final against Liverpool at Wembley Stadium. He played the full 90 minutes of regular time and another seven minutes of extra time before being substituted for Noni Madueke in the team's eventual 1–0 loss.

Gallagher scored his first home goal of the season in the fifth minute of a 4–3 win over Manchester United on 4 April 2024.

At the end of the season, as manager Mauricio Pochettino left, it was reported that Gallagher could also leave the club. Ahead of EURO 2024, Gallagher said he was focusing on the tournament rather than his club future.

International career
Gallagher's family heritage meant he was eligible to play for England, Scotland or the Republic of Ireland until he made a competitive appearance for any at senior level. He represented England at under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-20 youth levels, winning the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India.

On 8 October 2019, Gallagher received his first call up to the England U21 squad and made his debut on 11 October as a substitute during a 2–2 draw against Slovenia in Maribor.

On 14 November 2021, he received his first call-up to the England senior squad. The following day, he earned his first cap, coming on as a half-time substitute in England's 10–0 win over San Marino. He made his first start in a 2–1 friendly win over Switzerland on 26 March 2022, assisting a goal for Luke Shaw.

In November 2022, he was named in England's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar where he was an unused substitute in all five of the team's matches.

In June 2024, he was named in England's 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024. In the team's opening match against Serbia, he made his tournament debut as a 69th minute substitute for Trent Alexander-Arnold, as England won 1–0 to go top of Group C. After replacing Alexander-Arnold in the 54th minute of the second match against Denmark, Gallagher made his first start of the tournament in the 0–0 draw with Slovenia, playing the first half before being substituted for Kobbie Mainoo at half time.

Style of play
Gallagher has said his "best position is as a box-to-box midfielder [...] I can play deeper and I can play attacking as well", and was described by Lee Bowyer, his manager at Charlton at the time, as "an all-round midfielder. His work-rate is unreal, he puts his foot in for tackles and he can also see a pass". Patrick Vieira likened Gallagher's style of play to that of former players Ray Parlour and Frank Lampard, who was Gallagher's idol while he was growing up.

Honours
Chelsea
 * UEFA Europa League: 2018–19
 * EFL Cup runner-up: 2023–24

England U17
 * FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2017

England
 * UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2024

Individual
 * Chelsea Academy Player of the Year: 2018–19
 * EFL Young Player of the Month: August 2019
 * Crystal Palace Player of the Year: 2021–22
 * Chelsea Goal of the Year: 2022–23