Patrick Vieira has major doubts over Chelsea star’s possible return to Crystal Palace

The former Arsenal star was said to be keen on making the Blues midfielder a part of his squad for a second consecutive Premier League campaign.
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Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira does not believe he will be able to persuade Chelsea to allow Conor Gallagher to spend a second season at Selhurst Park.

The Blues midfielder was a key figure in Vieira’s side last season as he scored eight goals and provided five assists during a year-long loan with the Eagles.

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Such was his form during the campaign, the 22-year-old earned an England call-up during the campaign and made his senior debut for the Three Lions in a 10-0 win in San Marino last November.

Gallagher has now returned to Stamford Bridge and looks set to be handed a chance to impress Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel during their pre-season preparations.

The midfielder all but confirmed he would form part of the German’s squad earlier this week and that may well have played a significant part in Vieira’s doubt over a possible return to Palace.

“At the moment, Conor is a Chelsea player,” explained the Eagles boss.

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“We had him for a year and he did really well for us, but today he’s a Chelsea player.

”At the moment, I don’t think there is any kind of possibility for him to come back.

“So, it’s important for us to look around and see if there are any other players who can help us have a good season – that player may already be in our football club.”

Speaking to BBC Sport on Thursday, Gallagher discussed his relationship with former Borussia Dortmund and PSG head coach Tuchel and revealed he expects to play a big part during pre-season.

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He said: “(Tuchel) said he wants me to be part of the squad and to prove myself in pre-season, so that’s the plan.

“I’m happy with that and just willing to work as hard as I can to prove to him that I can play for Chelsea.

“It’s what I wanted to hear, it was a nice phone call that we had and it gave me a clear plan of pre-season and where I’m going to be. It was great to hear.”