Conor Gallagher called up to Southgate’s England squad
Conor Gallagher has been called up to the England squad ahead of their World Cup qualifier against San Marino.
The midfielder is currently on loan from Chelsea with Crystal Palace and has been on England manager Gareth Southgate’s radar since his loan spell at Charlton in 2019.
Gallagher “impressed” Southgate
The 23-year-old has made 10 appearances for Palace in his loan spell, scoring four goals.
“We’ve been very impressed with him,” said Southgate.
“We’ve tracked him for a very long time in his loan spells at Charlton, Swansea – we knew the staff there very well – at West Brom and now Crystal Palace.
“In each loan he has done extremely well. He has started the season very well with Palace.”
Gallagher has been part of each England youth set up since the Under-17 side in 2017-18.
The midfielder is eligible to play for England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland due to his family heritage.
England close to qualification
England need one point from tomorrow’s game with San Marino to guarantee top spot in Group I.
They’ll secure a spot at next year’s Qatar World Cup with a draw on Monday.
Southgate will be without Raheem Sterling, mason Mount, Luke Shaw, Jordan Henderson and Jack Grealish on Monday’s match having overcome Albania 5-0 on Friday.
Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice both pulled out of the squad prior to the match against Albania.
Gallagher joins Emile Smith Rowe in being called up to the squad this week.
The Arsenal forward made his debut from the bench on Friday.
The 2022 Qatar World Cup begins on 21 November of next year, with only the first placed side in each European qualifying group guaranteed a place.