England manager Gareth Southgate says Chelsea youngster Conor Gallagher’s versatility was behind his inclusion in the England squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Recall that Gallagher was named in the 26-man group that will represent England in Qatar in November and December.
Impressing with Chelsea under new boss Graham Potter, Gallagher has worked his way into the squad at the perfect moment.
Speaking to reporters, Southgate stated: “We were really pleased with how he responded at being out of our squad.
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“He went into the Under-21s and performed really well. His mentality was excellent. It is a good example that if you approach it in that way that there’s always a route back with us.
“He has managed to achieve that straight away.”
“He is fantastic at pressing the ball. I think there are going to be moments in these games where we are going to need different attributes.
“There are any number of players in this squad with different attributes to utilise at those moments. We feel he could be that sort of a player. He is not as experienced with us as some of the others. But he has an impact in games.
“He has got a goal threat. He, when you talk about midfielders, do they score goals, stop goals and create goals. He does a bit of all of that actually.“
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 has 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.
