Roy Hodgson has admitted that Chelsea youngster Conor Gallagher is “a player that I’ve admired for a long time”, with Crystal Palace linked with the midfielder in recent weeks. Hodgson was asked about where West Brom have improved recently, and noted that Gallagher and the other loan signings at the Hawthorns had been particularly impressive.
Roy Hodgson said “Well I think the loan signings they’ve brought in have have all been very good ones. I think they’ve all been very helpful. Conor Gallagher was there even when we played them in the first game of the season, he’s a player that I’ve admired for a long time, so I thought then ‘that’s a tremendous signing that you’ve made there’. And then of course Sam’s managed to add another three or four signings to that, all of whom I think are good players, and all of whom I think are improving the standard of the team.”
The Eagles had a move lined up last summer to bring in Gallagher on loan, but opted instead to sign Michy Batshuayi, with Premier League rules preventing more than one loan from another Premier League club. Gallagher instead sealed a move to West Brom, and has impressed despite the Baggies languishing in the relegation zone this season. Palace are facing an uncertain summer, with the futures of Hodgson and a number of the club’s players out of contract at the end of the season. Gallagher is supposedly of interest to Palace in the summer, and would reportedly cost around £9million if the club did want to bring him in from Stamford Bridge.
