Chelsea turn down Crystal Palace's request to play Conor Gallagher in the FA Cup semi-finals.
When the two sides meet in the FA Cup semi-final next weekend, Chelsea have turned down Crystal Palace's desire to feature Blues loanee Conor Gallagher.
Since signing on loan from Chelsea in the summer, Gallagher has been a big hit at Selhurst Park, scoring eight goals and assisting five times in all competitions, earning himself a place in Gareth Southgate's England team.
Gallagher is not allowed to play against his parent club this season due to the terms of his loan agreement, but Goal reports that Palace tried their luck and wanted to play the 22-year-old midfielder in the semi-final.
Chelsea, understandably, did not want to face an in-form Gallagher in such a crucial match and turned down the request.
Gallagher did not request to play and was not involved in any of the two clubs' conversations.
Chelsea has previously allowed loanees to play against them. Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori played against their parent club in the Carabao Cup fourth round this season, thanks to Frank Lampard's Derby County convincing Chelsea to let them play.
However, that was a Championship team in the early stages of a cup competition, not a top-tier team in the renowned FA Cup's late stages.