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Joe Cole has urged Enzo Maresca to block Chelsea from selling Conor Gallagher following his appointment at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca, 44, is set to be unveiled as the new Chelsea manager following Mauricio Pochettino’s shock departure at the end of the season.
Pochettino agreed to leave the Premier League club after crunch talks with the club’s owners, who then identified Maresca as one of their top choices to take over.
Maresca guided Leicester City back into the English top-flight during an impressive 2023-24 campaign, with the Foxes winning the Championship with 97 points.
The Italian will hope to enjoy more success at Chelsea, who were languishing in mid-table for much of last season before five successive wins saw them finish sixth and qualify for Europe.
Cole believes Maresca ‘ticks every box’ but has urged the former Serie A midfielder to prevent Chelsea from selling Gallagher as soon as he arrives at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have reportedly put Gallagher up for sale as they try to meet profit and sustainability rules but Cole believes he is too important to lose.
‘If I was sitting in front of the Chelsea owners, I would be telling them that Conor is arguably the most important player in the dressing room,’ Cole, who spent seven years at Chelsea, told talkSPORT.
‘Before you even talk about what he does on the pitch, he understands the club. During the difficult times you see what a player is worth and Conor was always there and available and driving the team on.
‘I think it’s vital for the club to keep him. I’ll admit I don’t understand the financial side of it but purely from a football point of view, he’s in the top-three most important players in the dressing room.’
Ex-Chelsea midfielder Andy Townsend agrees that Maresca should do everything he can to keep Gallagher at Stamford Bridge.
Gallagher, who has emerged as a target for Premier League clubs Tottenham and Aston Villa, captained Chelsea regularly last season in the absence of the injured Reece James.
‘I thought Conor Gallagher had a really good season,’ Townsend said on talkSPORT. ‘I thought he played some really good stuff.
‘He was good on loan at Crystal Palace and I think he added more to his game last season. His partnership with Moises Caicedo is much better than the Enzo [Fernandez] one.
‘I would love to think that Maresca could say to the hierarchy, “please don’t sell him, I need him and desperately want him to stay”. I think he played really well and deserves to stay.’
While Cole was disappointed to see Pochettino leave Chelsea, he endorsed his former club’s swoop for Maresca, saying: ‘I think he ticks every box. Everything I’ve heard about him has been positive and that’s always a good sign.’
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