Crystal Palace: Vieira wants ‘outrageous’ £22.5m star at Selhurst Park

Crystal Palace have ‘made it very clear to Chelsea’ that they want to keep midfielder Conor Gallagher at the club, according to Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge.

The 22-year-old enjoyed an outstanding campaign on loan at Selhurst Park throughout 2021/22 but it remains unclear who he will be turning out for next term.

Gallagher was named Palace’s player of the season after putting in several impressive displays, and chairman Steve Parish admitted he would love to retain his services.

“We would love to have Conor Gallagher back, I am not going to pretend that is not the case,” said Parish at the capital club’s awards ceremony.

However, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has recently stated that it is ‘too early’ to know the fate of the youngsters returning to Stamford Bridge from their temporary spells away, indicating he will reassess their futures in pre-season.

“It is too early to predict the future for them given the role of the whole season, but they will be back for pre-season, that’s for sure,” explained the 48-year-old tactician.

When asked whether Gallagher could return to south London, Bridge admitted that he wasn’t sure, yet revealed the Palace hierarchy have explicitly expressed their desires to the Blues.

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In an interview with GiveMeSport, he said: “I don’t know. Look, this is not an exclusive; they want him to stay.

“I think everyone knows that, and they’ve made it very clear to Chelsea that, ‘if you decide to loan him out again, look at what we’ve done for him. We’ve made him an England regular, a potential starter, so bear that in mind if you want one more year with him on loan.’”

Gallagher, who is valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, was