Conor Gallagher ready to impress for England after development under Pochettino

Conor Gallagher admits he was “sad” to see Mauricio Pochettino leave Chelsea but is putting his own future to one side to focus on England’s Euro 2024 campaign.

The 24-year-old made 50 appearances last season for the Blues, captaining the side under Pochettino – who left Stamford Bridge by mutual consent in May.

While it proved a tumultuous campaign for Chelsea as a whole, Gallagher arguably played some of the most consistent football of his career, sealing himself a place in Gareth Southgate’s European Championships squad in the process.

Pochettino paid the price for Chelsea’s sixth-placed Premier League finish and has been replaced by Enzo Maresca.

“Of course he has done so much for me so I was sad,” Gallagher said on Pochettino’s exit.

“Sad for him and coaching staff but really excited about the new manager coming in and myself and everyone at Chelsea is really excited to work with him.

“I think I have come a long way this season, I give a lot of credit to Pochettino and what he has done for me, gave me responsibility and trust at Chelsea.

“That puts me in a better position to be a bigger part of the squad at this tournament and I’ll do as much as I can to help England in the tournament.

“He just showed his belief and trust in me which is all a player wants to be honest. If a manager shows you a bit of love, it makes you play better.

“Long story short, it gives you confidence and that’s what it gave me so I just build on that.

“A lot of credit to Pochettino for giving me that opportunity to show Chelsea what I could do in the last season, hopefully there is still room for improvement.”

Despite being a favourite of Pochettino, Gallagher was linked with a move away from west London both before and after the Argentine’s