Conor John Gallagher (born 6 February 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea and the England national team.
![]() Gallagher playing for Crystal Palace in 2021 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Conor John Gallagher[1] | ||
Date of birth | (2000-02-06) 6 February 2000 (age 22)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Epsom, England | ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.82 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Chelsea | ||
Number | 23 | ||
Youth career | |||
Epsom Eagles | |||
2008–2019 | Chelsea | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2019– | Chelsea | 12 | (1) |
2019–2020 | → Charlton Athletic (loan) | 26 | (6) |
2020 | → Swansea City (loan) | 19 | (0) |
2020–2021 | → West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 30 | (2) |
2021–2022 | → Crystal Palace (loan) | 34 | (8) |
National team‡ | |||
2017–2018 | England U17 | 4 | (0) |
2018 | England U18 | 6 | (0) |
2018–2019 | England U19 | 9 | (2) |
2019 | England U20 | 4 | (0) |
2019– | England U21 | 15 | (3) |
2021– | England | 4 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:48, 12 November 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:54, 26 September 2022 (UTC) |
Beginning his career with Chelsea, he has spent loan spells at Charlton Athletic, Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion, and Crystal Palace.
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[3] and attended Howard of Effingham School.[4] His older brothers, Jake, Josh and Dan,[5] are footballers at non-league level.[6][7] Gallagher's family are Chelsea fans, and he lived a ten-minute drive from their training ground in Stoke d'Abernon.[7]
After playing for Epsom Eagles,[7] Gallagher joined Chelsea at the age of eight.[8] In October 2018 he signed a new contract with Chelsea until 2021.[6] He had minor heart surgery that year.[7] In May 2019 he was an unused substitute in the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final, collecting a winner's medal,[7][9] and was also awarded Chelsea's Academy Player of the Year for the 2018–19 season.[9]
In August 2019 he signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea and moved on loan to Charlton Athletic.[8] After his first month with Charlton in which he scored three goals in six games, he won the English Football League's Young Player of the Month award for August.[9][10] On 14 January 2020, it was confirmed that Gallagher had been recalled by Chelsea.[11]
On 15 January 2020, the day after leaving Charlton, Gallagher joined Swansea City on loan for the rest of the season.[12][13] Gallagher later said that his time at Swansea allowed him to be more creative as a player.[14]
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.[15][16] On 28 November, Gallagher scored his first goal for Albion in a 1–0 home league win over Sheffield United.[17]
In July 2021, Gallagher joined Premier League club Crystal Palace on a one-year loan deal.[18][19] He scored two goals in a 2–2 draw with West Ham United on 28 August, his first goals for Palace.[20] In November 2021 he was described in The Telegraph as "one of the Premier League's most vibrant talents" who "is thriving in his box-to-box role and has become a key player for Patrick Vieira".[21] In the same month, Gallagher was subjected to homophobic chants from a group of Leeds United fans; the club issued a statement which condemned this.[22] 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.[23] In 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.[24]
In July 2022, ahead of the 2022–23 season, Gallagher said he was determined to make a first-team breakthrough at Chelsea.[25][26] On 6 August 2022, he made his Chelsea debut, as a substitute, in a 1–0 away win against Everton in the Premier League.[27] On 1 October 2022, he scored his first Premier League goal with Chelsea, by netting the winning goal in the 90th minute in a 2–1 away victory over his former club, Crystal Palace.[28]
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.[4][29] 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.[6]
On 8 October 2019, Gallagher received his first call up to the England U21 squad [30] and made his debut on 11 October 2019 as a substitute during a 2–2 draw against Slovenia in Maribor.[31]
On 14 November 2021, he received his first call-up to the England senior squad.[32] The following day, he earned his first cap, coming on as a half-time substitute in England's 10–0 win over San Marino.[33]
He was named in England's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[34]
Gallagher has said his "best position is as a box-to-box midfielder [...] I can play deeper and I can play attacking as well",[7] 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".[9] Patrick Vieira has likened Gallagher's style of play to that of former players Ray Parlour and Frank Lampard,[35] who was Gallagher's idol while he was growing up.[9]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Chelsea U23 | 2018–19[36] | — | — | — | — | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||||
Chelsea | 2019–20[37] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2020–21[38] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
2021–22[39] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
2022–23[40] | Premier League | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | ||
Total | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | |||
Charlton Athletic (loan) | 2019–20[37] | Championship | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 6 | ||
Swansea City (loan) | 2019–20[37] | Championship | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 21 | 0 | |||
West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 2020–21[38] | Premier League | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 2 | ||
Crystal Palace (loan) | 2021–22[39] | Premier League | 34 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 8 | ||
Career total | 121 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 140 | 17 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
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England | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
2022 | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 4 | 0 |
Chelsea
England U17
Individual
Chelsea F.C. – current squad | |
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England squad – 2022 FIFA World Cup | ||
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Crystal Palace F.C. – Player of the Year | |
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