Conor Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah have been linked with moves away from Chelsea, and John Obi Mikel has slammed the decision.
Conor Gallagher is expected to join Atletico Madrid soon, while Trevoh Chalobah is on his way out as well. The former decided not to sign a new contract with the club. He is in the final year of his contract with Chelsea, and the player was recently sidelined by the Blues as they looked to force him out of the club.
Similarly, Chalobah finds himself on the fringes of the first team as well. The versatile defender does not have a future at Stamford Bridge, and it will be interesting to see if Chelsea can find a suitable destination for him.
Meanwhile, former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has now slammed the club for their treatment of the two players. Obi Mikel has pointed that Gallagher and Chalobah are boyhood Chelsea fans and that selling them to balance the books is bad business from the owners.
He also added that Gallagher was exceptional for Chelsea last season. Mikel believes that Gallagher was Chelsea’s second best player after Cole Palmer. The Englishman was undoubtedly a key player for the Blues last seasonm and he was one of the first names on the team sheet under Mauricio Pochettino. Gallagher captained the club several times last season as well.
“Of course, two young boys that bleed blue, exactly,” he said on his podcast, The Obi One podcast. “Through and through. At the club when they were little boys and now we have to sell them to make sure it balances the books.
“Then it comes down to the owners just spending way too much money and buying everybody that’s got a price tag on [them]. Just spending way too much money, buying way too many players we don’t need.
“Now, you have to sell, for me the best player last season apart from Cole Palmer, [which] was Conor Gallagher. He was the only player you could see was putting in effort, running and putting in the performances that was needed to be at the club, you know what I mean.
“For me, I think he should still be at the club. Also Chalobah as well for me when he came back from his injury. He was the best centre-back we had. I don’t think we lost a game when he came back, or probably one or two or something like that.
“But he was absolutely fantastic when he came back from injury and he played all the games. Poch trusted him and brought him into the team and he played all the games, he was absolutely fantastic. Now we have to sell those two players to balance the books.
“Two young players who bleed Chelsea, and now you have to sell them to balance the books. I just think it’s bad business from the owners. Absolutely bad business from the owners.”
Meanwhile, Chalobah is a handy squad option for the Blues as well. His ability to slot into any defensive position makes him an asset for the club, and Chelsea should have treated him better and convinced him to continue with them. It seems that Chelsea are now ready to balance the books by selling their homegrown players, and it will be interesting to see where Chalobah ends up.
