Eligible to play in his first game after signing with Tottenham Hotspur for 40 million euros from Spanish giants Atletico Madrid, Conor Gallagher did not miss his opportunity to immediately settle into the Spurs starting XI on Saturday afternoon against rivals West Ham United.
Well, it ended up being far from a dream debut for either Gallagher or the Lilywhites, as Spurs lost 2-1 to a team that, even after picking up three points on Spurs, still sits 18th in the Premier League and in a relegation fight that could soon also involve Tottenham at this rate.
Gallagher was very much a part of the futility of the display, as he looked totally overmatched and a bit out of sorts in his first game. Now, that can partially be forgiven, since debuts and adjustments can be rough, and it is also true that Gallagher was not exactly in great game shape with Atletico Madrid, given he was mostly riding the pine in the Spanish capital.
Conor Gallagher was on the bench in Madrid for a reason
Then again, you could also just as viably argue that Gallagher was riding the bench for the Rojiblancos for a reason. He simply was not good enough for them, and that is a big reason why Atleti were actively shopping him to wasteful Premier League clubs like Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur for months and months.
Atleti had no interest in keeping Gallagher, much less playing him, and Tottenham may already be seeing the early signs of why. So at best, Tottenham learned a lesson they probably should have already known, and that is the fact that Gallagher is not going to be able to help them substantially for the first few games.
At worst, though, they may have to mull over a more troublesome lesson, and that is the reality that the scraps of two top European clubs in Chelsea and Atletico Madrid will likely be nothing more than overpriced scraps for Tottenham now.
Because Gallagher looked like the player who was in over his head for Atletico Madrid, chasing shadows and neither creating nor producing anything of note for the attacking players. The challenge should now be set from the entire Tottenham coaching staff and upper management brass from Gallagher to step up, because this very early return was totally unacceptable and far beneath what literally every other midfielder employed to the Spurs squad could have provided this team against a midfield as lowly as West Ham's.