Chelsea academy product Conor Gallagher scored a crucial goal for Tottenham in their Premier League win over Aston Villa, and was lauded by manager Roberto De Zerbi.
Gallagher’s long-range goal got Spurs on their way to a 2-1 victory over the rotated Europa League semi-finalists, who started both Jadon Sancho and Tammy Abraham.
The former Chelsea midfielder is currently earning £200k-a-week at his new club, although Spurs will defend that investment if he keeps them in the Premier League.
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Roberto De Zerbi delighted after getting ‘Chelsea version’ of Conor Gallagher
Chelsea’s arch-rivals moved out of the relegation zone last night following their win, and Roberto De Zerbi put a lot of that down to the performance of Gallagher.
Before the game, the boss had pleaded to see a version of the midfielder which resembled the performances he produced at Chelsea, and when reminded of that he admitted he wasn’t disappointed with what he saw.
He said to the Tottenham website: “Yes, absolutely – when Gallagher plays like this, we play with 12 players because you can find him as a striker, as a midfielder, as a full-back, everywhere on the pitch you can find him. Great player, great passion, great qualities. Great player.”
Gallagher got off to a rough start at Spurs, however will not have been helped by the managerial circus which has greeted him since moving to North London.
He looks to be a crucial player for De Zerbi, a combination that Chelsea fans were reportedly not far away from seeing at Stamford Bridge.
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Chelsea can still pour misery on Tottenham
While Spurs climbed out of the relegation zone on Sunday night, there is still work to be done to avoid what would be an embarrassing drop to the Championship.
They have three games left this season, with the penultimate being at Stamford Bridge against Calum McFarlane’s Blues.
Chelsea have taken great pleasure in spoiling the party for their rivals in the past. The infamous ‘Battle of the Bridge’ saw the Blues put an end to Tottenham’s title hopes in 2016.