The Conor Gallagher situation is messy, to say the least. As a new Premier League season dawns, the English midfielder has seen his move to Atletico Madrid, which had been thought to be a done deal, fall through.
He’s back with the side now, but may not feature in the season opener, as his agent works on his next potential landing spot.
Season Opener FYIs
Chelsea FC vs Manchester City
Kickoff: Sunday Aug. 18, 4:30pm, Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Team News: Chelsea FC Manchester City
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea FC Manchester City
Analysis of Mauricio Pochettino taking the USMNT Job: go here
Result Probability: Chelsea FC 23% Draw 24% Manchester City 53%
Chelsea FC Team News
Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are now being linked as the next hypothetical destinations. Turning towards the fitness situation, captain Reece James just continues to remain substantially injury prone. Currently, he’s still trying to get up to match fitness, after recuperating from a thigh injury.
Also ruled out for this one are summer signing Omari Kellyman (undisclosed issue) and goalkeeper Djorde Petrovic (also undisclosed).
Chelsea will come into this one as certain underdogs, for several reasons. They looked pretty brutal in their preseason loss to Manchester City, at Ohio Stadium, a couple weeks ago. Yes, it was a friendly, but still, it was very lopsided. Anyway, let’s do this.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.