Chelsea will not be able to recall either Conor Gallagher or Billy Gilmour from their season-long loans in January, according to reports.
As reported by The Athletic, due to the conditions of the break clause in their deals with Crystal Palace and Norwich City respectively, the duo have made enough appearances for their loan sides to prevent a January recall being activated by their parent club.
As exclusively revealed by football.london last week, Gallagher was not expecting to be recalled to Chelsea in January. The midfielder is enjoying his football under Patrick Vieira and is happy with how he is progressing as a player.
He wants to make the spot his own in the Chelsea side in 2022/23 and he is going the right way about it too, having netted his fifth and sixth goals of the Premier League season on Sunday in Palace’s 3-1 win over Everton.
His progress earned him his first England cap last month as he came on from the bench in the Three Lions' 10-0 win over San Marino.
On the other hand, Gilmour's had a different start to life as a Norwich player.
The 20-year-old initially struggled to break into the starting XI under former manager Daniel Farke. Thomas Tuchel even revealed in November that he had spoken to his compatriot about Gilmour's lack of playing time.
However, the Scotsman has enjoyed a better time of late and has emerged as a key figure under new boss Dean Smith, starting every match since the ex-Aston Villa manager’s arrival at the club.
With Chelsea's injury problems in midfield a constant issue so far this season, Tuchel may have liked to have recalled one or both Gallagher and Gilmour to Stamford Bridge in January to save on any possible transfer fees.
However, now that is reportedly no longer possible, it makes Tuchel's decision even easier. The German will simply have to decide whether to continue with the charges he currently has, or dip into the transfer market once more to strengthen.
