Conor Gallagher is back in London and is expected to report to Chelsea training today as his long-running transfer to Atletico Madrid stalls.
The England midfielder was in Madrid close to completing his £33.7million transfer to Atletico, but Samu Omorodion’s move to Chelsea fell at the final hurdle.
Gallagher flew back to England last night and had to make the journey home while Chelsea and Atletico continue to work on solutions to complete his move to LaLiga.
The 24-year-old is in limbo as his move to Atletico depends on whether Chelsea can strike a deal with the Madrid club to sign Joao Felix instead. Atletico will need to raise money through the sale of Omorodion or Felix to ratify Gallagher’s deal after they signed Julian Alvarez from Manchester City this week.
Gallagher is believed to be willing to wait patiently while Chelsea and Atletico attempt to negotiate a deal with Portuguese striker Felix that would then enable his move to Spain.
Chelsea open the season on Sunday with a match against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, while Atletico start their Spanish top flight campaign at Villarreal on Monday evening.
Both clubs are still trying to complete Gallagher’s transfer ahead of the opening weekend games.
Chelsea tied Cole Palmer to a new contract with improved terms on Tuesday, extending his already long-term contract, which ran until 2031, to 2033.
The Blues will continue to push for more new signings ahead of the transfer deadline on August 30th.
Atletico are said to have made cautious enquiries about the availability of former Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante, but his Saudi club Al Ittihad maintain that the French star is not for sale. Numerous clubs across Europe were confident of convincing Al Ittihad to sell the 33-year-old, but the Saudi outfit have rebuffed all offers.
Atletico still want to complete the Gallagher deal but are also considering possible eventualities. Despite Al Ittihad’s tough stance, Kante seems to be the preferred alternative.
Chelsea’s transfer of 20-year-old Atletico striker Omorodion fell through at the final stages of the contract earlier this week, which posed a problem for Gallagher.
Atletico and the Blues quickly shifted their talks to a potential deal for Felix, who spent six months on loan at Stamford Bridge in the first half of 2023. Chelsea reportedly believe they can negotiate a deal on favourable terms that could solve two problems in one fell swoop.
A transfer of Felix to Chelsea would be convenient for all parties involved, as Atletico had tried to sell the star, who played 41 times in Portugal, due to the strained relationship.
