Conor Gallagher's Transformation at Tottenham

Conor Gallagher steps into the press room in Sydney with the easy calm of a player who has come through the storm and finally feels the wind at his back.

A year ago, sections of the Tottenham support were questioning why the club had brought him in from Atletico Madrid. Now, as Spurs prepare to face Chelsea in front of 80,000 at Accor Stadium, the 26-year-old stands there as a central figure in Roberto De Zerbi’s plans and a symbol of the club’s reset.

From doubts to driving force

Gallagher will line up against his old club in what will be the first north London–Chelsea derby ever played outside the UK, the final stop on a tour of New Zealand and Australia. The scale of it has hit him.

“It’s amazing. I didn’t quite realise how popular Spurs are in Australia,” he said. “The fans have been incredible. Even today in training, it was great to have them watch.”

He sounds genuinely taken aback by the size of the travelling and local support, but there’s also a sense that he feels part of something growing again at Tottenham after a brutal season of struggle.

That struggle shaped him. Criticised early on, misfiring, and searching for rhythm, Gallagher’s year turned when De Zerbi walked through the door. The Italian pushed him higher up the pitch, trusted his legs and his pressing, and reminded him of the player who once buzzed around midfields for Chelsea.

“Obviously, a big reason why I started to perform better was because of the gaffer coming in,” Gallagher said. “It gave me a bit of confidence back and physically I was feeling stronger.”

The turnaround became tangible in the run-in, with a vital goal at Aston Villa and a late surge in form that helped keep Spurs in the Premier League. From there, the mission was clear: don’t let that momentum slip.

“Pre-season is really important for me,” he said. “I want to push on from that and kick on and hopefully help the club to a good season.”

The No.10 who will play anywhere

The tactical picture around him has shifted. Tottenham have invested heavily in two new No.8s, yet Gallagher has increasingly been used as a No.10, both at the end of last season and throughout this tour. It could easily be a point of tension. It isn’t.

“To be honest, I’m happy to play anywhere the manager wants to play me,” he said. “The 10 or number eight in the double pivot, it’s fine. I enjoy playing anywhere in midfield. I’ve found myself in the 10 more often.

“It’s nice to run forward and I can do what I do best and press well and try and lead from the front. I don’t really mind.”

That last line is telling. He knows his game. He’s not pretending to be a luxury playmaker. He’s there to hunt, to harry, to drag the press up the pitch and set the tempo.

And if that means battling a deeper pool of midfielders for his place, he welcomes it.

“When you play for a club like Tottenham, if there’s not competition for a starting XI spot then something is wrong,” he said. “Obviously that’s what comes in playing for such a top club.”

De Zerbi, Simeone and the power of belief

Gallagher’s journey to this point has been shaped by two demanding managers with very different styles: Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid and De Zerbi at Spurs.

“Honestly, Diego is an amazing manager and what he’s done at Atletico is incredible,” he said. But the key thread he picks out from both men isn’t shape or tactics. It’s belief.

“In football, confidence is a massive thing and every player needs to have confidence if you’re going to perform well. That’s what the gaffer realised with me.

“I wasn’t playing very well, but he knew what I can do. Obviously, when he was at Brighton and me at Chelsea, we played against each other a lot. He thought I was a good player, so he knew what I had to do to improve and to get that belief back. That’s the main thing that has helped me.”

He insists his confidence issues did not stem from how things ended at Chelsea. For him, it’s more physical and rhythm-based than emotional.

“Confidence can come and go in a game, but when you get a run at games and you’re playing well, you feel fit, you feel strong, you get confidence back and that’s the way it was.”

The message is clear: give him minutes, give him responsibility, and he’ll respond.

A different mood, a familiar core

Around him, Tottenham look and feel different. New signings, new ideas, a new way of playing. The scars of last season haven’t vanished, but they’ve hardened into resolve.

“Obviously we have made some great signings already, which is really good for the club,” Gallagher said. “Great lads too, not just good footballers, which I think is really important to have the right characters and people with us.

“It’s only going to make us stronger. We went through a really tough season last season and we are so determined and hungry to improve as a team.”

Training, he says, has changed in tone as much as in content.

“It’s a lot more enjoyable. Not being in the situation we were last season, obviously like we spoke about, it’s a fresh start, fresh players, faces, new way of playing and trying to get everyone on the same page to understand how we play and what the manager wants us to do.

“In pre-season, that’s what it’s all been about. It’s just understanding the way we want to play. So we’re ready for the season.”

You can see it on the players’ faces?

“Yes, of course. Everyone’s so happy. We’ve had a great time in Australia. Training’s been great. The games have been good. Everyone’s in a great mood and we’re really looking forward to a big game tomorrow.”

Yet, for all the change, Gallagher doesn’t pretend this is a revolution that has swept away the old guard.

“Well, no, because there’s a lot of the same people, which is great,” he said. “Like I said, it’s just like a fresh kind of start and everyone’s just very excited to make things better.”

Setting standards for the next wave

At 26, Gallagher is now at the age where he’s expected to carry more than just his own form. He’s one of the players younger squad members will watch closely, on and off the pitch.

“It’s weird because it only feels like you have a day when I was 18, 19 and in the same position,” he admitted. “So I completely understand where those boys are at and I try and do what I can to set the standards on and off the pitch and show how professional you’ve got to be. I try and help them as much as I can.”

That sense of responsibility fits the wider picture at Spurs. A squad bruised by last season, reshaped by signings, driven by a coach who has already reignited careers. Gallagher sits right at the heart of that story.

Now comes Chelsea, under the Sydney lights, in front of 80,000. Old club, new role, fresh start.

If this is the season Tottenham are to turn defiance into progress, players like Conor Gallagher won’t just be part of it – they’ll be the ones dragging it forward.