Chelsea hit the jackpot with free signing who’s now worth more than Caicedo

Since the arrival of Todd Boehly in 2022, Chelsea have spent an extraordinary £950m on transfers.

Within that sum, the Blues smashed the British record transfer fee by forking out a whopping £115m for Moises Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion.

The defensive midfielder has been a regular presence in Mauricio Pochettino’s lineup this season, starting 31 league matches, but he’s only now finally starting to showcase his talent in a Chelsea shirt after a difficult first few months.

Despite the enormous sum spent, Caicedo doesn’t appear in the top five most valued players at Chelsea, according to CIES’ Football Observatory, with one player in particular now worth even more than the 22-year-old.

Conor Gallagher’s rise to the top

Chelsea’s academy is without a doubt one of the most successful in England, continuously developing talent who often goes on to have fantastic careers, such as John Terry.

One of the more recent examples is Conor Gallagher, who has been at the club since the age of six and progressed through the ranks to first-team football.

In 2019, the midfielder won the Academy Player of the Year award, and he gained vital experience in the Championship while on loan at Charlton Athletic and Swansea City.

During the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, the England international then developed his game on loan at West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace, making his Chelsea debut in August 2022 after winning Palace’s Player of the Season award.

Since then, he’s continued to impress with the Blues badge on his chest, to the point where he’s one of the most valuable players in the entire squad.

Conor Gallagher’s transfer value in 2024

After starting just 18 Premier League games last season, Gallagher has become an important player under Pochettino, starting all but one game so far, which was due to suspension.

Whether it’s playing as a slightly more attacking box-crashing number ten, a standard box-to-box midfielder, or even slightly deeper in a double pivot, the number 23 has impressed, scoring seven goals and supplying nine assists in all competitions.

This versatility and willingness to sacrifice himself for the side is what makes him such a “diamond,” as dubbed by football scout Jacek Kulig, and his relentless approach is infectious.

The fact that he leads by example on the field has also been noticed by the Argentine boss, hence his decision to hand Gallagher the captain’s armband, which highlights that he possesses perfect leadership qualities.

Impressively, Gallagher is now worth around £17m more than Caicedo and only valued lower than Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez.

This value is a reflection on both his quality and his importance to the Chelsea side, as he’s slowly becoming an irreplaceable figure in the team, as shown by his appearances this season.

Furthermore, Gallagher’s well-rounded skillset is also one of the key reasons why he’s worth so much, with his 12 league goal contributions, 2.4 tackles per game, and 70.4 touches per game serving as evidence for that.

Overall, it’s quite clear that Chelsea truly hit the jackpot on Gallagher, and it’s even more incredible considering he cost nothing, £115m less than Caicedo.

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