Wednesday’s capture of Conor Gallagher (£5.5m) was Tottenham Hotspur’s first foray into the January transfer market.

After the midfielder’s £35m arrival from Atletico Madrid, we explore his Fantasy Premier League (FPL) appeal below.

• READ MORE: FPL new signings: Who are West Ham’s two new £5.5m forwards?

FPL HISTORY

Gallagher started his senior career with loan spells in the Championship at Charlton Athletic and Swansea City, before playing full seasons for West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace in the top-flight.

From a Fantasy perspective, his breakthrough undoubtedly came at Palace in the 2021/22 season.

Thriving in a box-to-box role under Patrick Vieira, Gallagher had produced eight goals and six assists by the season’s end, with 140 points, which ultimately earned him a spot on our Fantasy Football Scout Team of the Season longlist.

In the following campaign, Gallagher returned to Chelsea and went from strength to strength while playing for his boyhood club.

Indeed, he started 37 Premier League matches in 2023/24, directly contributing to 13 goals, with 129 points.

ATLETICO MADRID

Gallagher headed to Spain to join Atletico Madrid in August 2024, and went on to make 51 La Liga appearances for the Spanish giants.

He scored five goals and provided three assists, but with just four league starts to his name this season, was eager to return to England.

IN QUOTES

“Conor, I think, has a lot of good offensive abilities. You know, his ability to arrive in the box and score goals, his way of finishing. I think he’s a clever finisher. As well, I think his skills around the last third is good in terms of arriving in the right positions. I told him about the project and the plan with him and the club and what we are aiming for and all that suited him very well and also I think he suited us and I think we suited him.” – Thomas Frank on Conor Gallagher

“I think what he brings in terms of abilities, first and foremost, he’s a very good player, great experience in the Premier League, also in La Liga, captained several teams. So that character, that leadership, that experience, and still young, 25, with plenty of development to reach, but coming in on a good level, bring his pressing abilities, his directness, scoring goals, but also being able to find good positions on the pitch, is exactly what we need.” – Thomas Frank on Conor Gallagher

“I like to see myself as a bit of an all-rounder, you could say. I try to be as effective as I can on the pitch with what I’m good at. I try to run as hard as I can. I try to make as many tackles as I can. I try to win as many duels as I can, make a box, try and score, try and assist. Basically, all the basic things. I try my hardest to be good at everything and whatever the manager wants me to do, whatever role or position or system, I will be willing to do my best wherever I am. Hopefully, I can show the fans what I can do. I think in the last year at Chelsea I was able to grow into a leadership role, which was really good for me. It helped me grow not only as a person but as a footballer as well. I think I can be a leader on the pitch and hopefully an example for the players. I will do my best to do that.” – Conor Gallagher

PLAYING STATS/DEFCON POTENTIAL

In his most recent Premier League campaign (2023/24), Gallagher developed into one of the most important players in the Chelsea squad.

He was used in attacking midfield, deeper midfield and on the left wing, chipping in with five goals and eight assists.

Statistically, Gallagher ranked third among all Chelsea players for shots (48, one every 65.1 mins) and second for chances created (54, one every 59 mins).

Above: Conor Gallagher’s shot map (left) and chances created map (right) in 2023/24

But Gallagher will have other routes to points this season, too.

A versatile, energetic midfielder, he would hypothetically have hit the defensive contribution (DefCon) threshold in 17 matches in 2023/24, a success rate of 45.9%:

For context, that’s comparable to James Garner (£5.1m) in the current campaign (47.6% DefCon success rate).

WHERE DOES GALLAGHER FIT IN AT SPURS?

It seems that Gallagher can fulfil various roles in Thomas Frank’s favoured 4-2-3-1 system, but these two options feel most likely:

• Partner Joao Palhinha (£5.5m) in central midfield
• Play slightly further forward in a kind of hybrid No 8/10 role

With Rodrigo Bentancur (£5.3m) ruled out for most of the season due to a hamstring injury, you’d imagine Gallagher will start in central midfield, at least initially.

However, there is the possibility he could be used further forward, particularly in light of Frank’s quote about “his ability to arrive in the box and score goals”.

Above: A potential Tottenham Hotspur starting XI in Gameweek 22

THOUGHTS

The jury remains out on Spurs but Gallagher’s £5.5m price tag could provide value.

Consequently, he is certainly worth keeping an eye on, and there’s every chance he will become a viable option as a cheap fifth midfielder during the latter part of the season, particularly if he can take a few set-pieces.

Even if he is deployed in central midfield, with Palhinha the more natural holding player, it should allow Gallagher to push forward in order to make the most of his abilities as a box-crashing No 8.

His ability to bank DefCons could be a significant factor, too. Not only does Gallagher have previous in this area but Bentancur, who Gallagher is effectively stepping in for, is among the top five midfielders (minimum of 1,000 minutes) for defensive contributions per 90 minutes:

Gallagher’s limited recent playing time is a downside, and it’s also worth noting that there are some awful fixtures from Gameweek 24 onwards:

Contrast that with the run-in, when Spurs top the ticker:

So, the next nine Gameweeks could be a nice little audition period for the final quarter of the season. Spurs could very well be out of Europe by then (they’ve already bowed out of both domestic cups), leaving the league as the sole focus and minimising any risk of rotation.