Manchester United have struggled to find consistency, with each sign of progression met with a disappointing showing.
After 17 games, the Red Devils are seventh in the Premier League table with 28 points, however, they’ve lost seven matches already.
Therefore, Erik ten Hag will be frustrated by his team so far, and he will look to improve his squad in the January transfer window.
Man Utd transfers latest – Conor Gallagher
TEAMtalk recently revealed that Conor Gallagher could leave Chelsea, with the Blues open to selling the midfielder.
Man United are closely watching his situation, and it would take £50m to lure him away from Stamford Bridge.
However, Gallagher is content at his boyhood club and has shown no desire to exit, making any potential move more difficult.
Conor Gallagher's style of play
Gallagher moving to Man United would be the second Chelsea player in six months to make the switch from London to Manchester, with Mason Mount joining Ten Hag’s side in the summer. That said, the 23-year-old has started all but one game for Mauricio Pochettino in the league this season, taking on the captain’s armband in the absence of Thiago Silva.
Mount hasn't exactly set the world alight since moving to Manchester, notably failing to register a single goal involvement during an injury-hit debut campaign at Old Trafford. Such a run on the treatment table has meant the former Chelsea man has only started four Premier League games after arriving. Ten Hag will hope, therefore, that Gallagher isn't another awful repeat.
Fortunately, the ex-West Brom loanee would bring responsibility, work rate, and leadership to the United midfield, but he is also a jack of all trades and has great versatility, which would allow Ten Hag to be more fluid with his approach and system.
The table below shows a handful of Gallagher’s statistics from this Premier League season and how they compare to midfielders in the league, outlining why he'd be a classy signing.
Tackles
3.05
Top 15%
Interceptions
1.63
Top 7%
Assists
0.27
Top 11%
Key passes
1.56
Top 21%
Shot-creating actions
3.53
Top 21%
Firstly, it is quite obvious that Gallagher excels in out-of-possession tasks, such as tackling and intercepting. Furthermore, the Chelsea captain has been labelled as a “one-man pressing crusade” by football writer Joe Chapman, which fits in perfectly with Ten Hag’s idea of a counter-press, with Mount signed for this exact purpose.
These traits would also decrease the number of counterattacks that his side suffers from, especially when you consider that he is an athletic engine and can cover ground with ease.
Gallagher has immense running power, and due to his technical ability, he can feature in multiple roles. Already this season, he has been fielded as a defensive midfielder, in a box-to-box role and even as a number ten. This is similar to United's number seven, who has the quality to perform in multiple roles due to his intelligence and ability with the ball at his feet.
Although he hasn’t scored yet this season for Chelsea, Gallagher has previously shown in his eight-goal 2021/22 Premier League season that he can be effective in the final third, making late runs to crash the box. However, he has taken on a more creative role under his current Argentine boss, as shown by his key passes, assists, and shot-creating action stats in the table above.
Unfortunately, we are yet to see how the ex-Chelsea star in Mount fits in at his new club, with injuries keeping him out for the most part this season. But signing Gallagher could transform United’s midfield with his vast skill set. Signing the midfielder would be a smart choice, and he would slot into the right eight role, which Mount would have played if he had been available.
