Conor Gallagher's shabby treatment shames Chelsea

ENGLAND midfielder Conor Gallagher today completed a protracted move from Chelsea to Atletico Madrid, bringing down the curtain on a 16-year association with the Blues and the latest shabby episode at the west London club.

- Dan Kilpatrick

Gallagher joined Chelsea's academy as an eight-year-old and is something of a Blues hero, a local lad done good and one of their own to match-going supporters.

He regularly captained the side under former head coach Mauricio Pochettino last season and was comfortably one of the most consistent players in another chaotic campaign.

It has, however, been an open secret for some time that Chelsea’s owners view Gallagher less as a homegrown hero to build around, and more as a sellable asset. As an academy graduate, you see, Gallagher will count as “pure profit” on the balance sheet in the club’s next accounts.