Blackburn Rovers are profiting from the transfer of a star to Stoke City for £25,000 per week.
In his first season, he made eighteen appearances in the Premier League, although only three of those were starts. He only scored once since he had to fight for playing time against Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert.
At the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, the Englishman signed a new long-term contract with the team, but he would spend the entire following season accumulating minutes for the reserves. Between 2015 and 2018, Gallagher would go on loan to teams like MK Dons, Blackburn Rovers, and Birmingham City. After another full season on the bench during the 2018–19 season, he would finally leave the Saints permanently, joining Blackburn at the end of that season for about £5 million.The former England youth international played at Ewood Park for five seasons before Steven Schumacher and Stoke City approached him in the last year of his contract. In July 2024, Stoke paid Blackburn £1.5 million to bring Gallagher to the Potteries. He signed a three-year contract at an estimated £25k per week, making him the club’s second-highest earner after fellow summer acquisition Ben Gibson.
It would be reasonable to argue that Stoke hasn’t yet received their money’s worth, and it appears that they might never do. Gallagher made just 24 games in his final season at Rovers, missing a significant amount of time due to injury, after making at least 34 appearances in his first four years there. This should have raised serious concerns for Stoke. Gallagher played in just 22 league games during his first season as a Potter, nine of which were as a starter. He scored three goals and provided one assist as Stoke barely survived relegation.
Tom Cannon, who finished as the club’s top goalscorer last season, left the club in January after being recalled by Leicester City and sold to Sheffield United. He finished as the side’s top goalscorer with nine, beating Gallagher’s tally of three in one game, when he netted four past Portsmouth.He made 13 appearances in the final 14 games of the previous season, giving the impression that he had begun to regain his fitness. However, a recurring calf injury has prevented him from making an appearance this season. He will have to contend with Slovakian center-forward Robert Bozenik and Manchester City loanee Divin Mubama for playing time when he returns, and Potters manager Mark Robins’ preference for a 4-2-3-1 formation may make it difficult for him to get playing time even if he is healthy.
Robins has lauded Gallagher despite his injury problems, stating, “He is an unbelievable specimen.” He is the kind of football player you would like to develop. His muscles are often too strong for his tendons, and we remark about how powerful he is. Because of his strength, speed, and willingness to give it his all every second, he is so powerful that it could have negative consequences. “If at all possible, we need to slightly alter his game, but we also need to keep an eye on everything he does throughout training to make sure we don’t overcook or undercook him.
“It’s a really difficult balancing act but when you’ve got an athlete like that, like a racehorse, you have to make sure you monitor everything you possibly can to give ourselves and him the best chance of being available.” Blackburn will be relieved that Gallagher is no longer on their roster as they monitor his injury troubles at Stoke. During his six years at Ewood Park, including his previous loan term, the six-foot-four-inch forward made 238 appearances for Blackburn in all competitions, tallying 25 assists and 48 goals.
Despite never being the most productive, Gallagher’s athleticism makes him a difficult opponent to deal with. To the annoyance of Rovers supporters, he ended up playing out on the flank under both Tony Mowbray and Jon Dahl Tomasson. Sammie Szmodics, who was best suited to play through the middle, was a major contributor to this, as seen by his 27 goals and four assists in the 2023–2024 campaign.
Blackburn won’t regret selling Gallagher because, although losing money on him, he contributed at the top end of the pitch for five years in a row. Had they chosen to hold onto him until the conclusion of his contract, they probably would have lost him for nothing. With a contract that lasts until the summer of 2027, Stoke, on the other hand, must deeply regret the arrangement that brought Gallagher to the Potteries and will probably not be able to remove his £25k weekly salary from the books anytime soon.
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