Chelsea made a big mistake this summer by not sending Connor Gallagher out on loan again, The 23-year-old has struggled to make an impact at Chelsea this season and there is now a good chance he leaves in the summer. He is a homegrown talent and came through the ranks at the academy. The London club deserves praise and appreciation for their fantastic academy. They consistently bring players through who have the potential to be superstars. The likes of Mason Mount and Declan Rice come to mind as they are both established players for their club and country. However, both Mount and Rice enjoyed loan spells to help them develop into good Premier League players. 

Connor Gallagher was on loan at Crystal Palace last season and was impressive. He started week in week out and excited Chelsea and Palace fans. He was gaining vital experience playing every week which developed him as a player. The physical demands of the Premier League are huge and Gallagher proved he possessed the physical attributes to play in this league. He scored eight goals and provided three assists in the league last season which shows he also possesses the qualities in front of goal. This is a trait many of the greatest midfielders possessed so it was encouraging to see.

However, the most important stat of last season was the 34 appearances the midfielder stacked up. In terms of development, the best thing for a youngster is regular game time and Gallagher got this in abundance. Patrick Viera was clearly a huge fan of him and rumours suggested the club were interested in signing the player permanently however Chelsea recalled him in the summer. While one could argue he proved he was good enough to play for Chelsea so it was the right call in bringing him back, he has been underwhelming this season.