Chelsea's Conor Gallagher no longer suffers from imposter syndrome with England

The 23-year-old midfielder has started all but one of Chelsea's games so far this season and has also captained his boyhood club on occasion.

The Blues rejected a bid from West Ham for Gallagher in the summer and he appears to be in favour with head coach Mauricio Pochettino despite the recent heavy spending at Stamford Bridge.

Gallagher was part of the England squad for last winter's World Cup but admitted at the time that he "didn't expect" the call from Gareth Southgate and was "surprised" to be on the plane to Doha.

Now, though, as he plays in the Chelsea midfield alongside two of the top five most expensive signings in Premier League history – Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo – while teaming up with £105million man Declan Rice and Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham with England, he believes he belongs.

Asked if consistently being called up by England while keeping the faith of Pochettino and playing alongside such talent removed any previous doubt, Gallagher replied: "Yeah, that's not the case anymore. After the World Cup squad was announced, I wasn't playing much for Chelsea and we were going through a tough period, so that's why I said that.

"But I'm very confident in my ability and what I can do. Training and playing alongside midfielders worth 100-plus million pounds is good and shows where I'm at as well.

"Obviously, playing every game so far with Chelsea this season and doing well really helps with my confidence and I think you can see that on the pitch and I'll always give my best for Chelsea and for England."

While he may team up with some of the best midfielders in the game, Gallagher also enjoys testing himself when he comes up against a similar talent on the opposing side.

An early tackle on Manchester City's Rodri during Sunday's thrilling 4-4 Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge was one such recent example.

"I love the challenge of playing against the best midfielders in the world," he added.

"It's always good to test yourself and see how you can perform against them and Rodri is one of the best in the world.

"He's a top player but I am confident in myself. I like to show that on the pitch. I felt it was a good game. Hopefully the confidence can grow.

"A lot was going on in the summer, a big transition in the club, a lot of players coming in, a lot of players leaving, I was lucky enough to stay and be a part of the manager's plans, whatever he wants me to do I have been doing and I will keep working as hard as possible for him."

The roots of Gallagher's rise to challenge the midfield elite began much closer to home, when he was forced to play in goal during garden kickabouts with his brothers.

He is the youngest of four boys and his elder siblings Jake, Josh and Dan all play non-league football – but that did not mean they went easy on the baby of the group.

"All my brothers playing non-league keeps me grounded for sure. They helped me a lot growing up and even now," added Gallagher.

"We're still brothers and we still give each other advice and whatnot. They have a great understanding of the game even though they're playing at a lower standard. They are all midfielders so there's parts of their games I've taken off them and put in mine.

"It was nuts (playing in the garden as kids). It was brilliant and I think it's helped me to become the player I am today.

"To be fair, they just chucked me in goal. They gave me the goalie gloves and just battered balls at me!

"That's the honest truth. To be fair, I only got out of goal towards the end, when we'd all grown up and we more rotated it. But I actually love being in goal."

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