Conor Gallagher is back in London and due in for Chelsea training today as his protracted transfer to Atletico Madrid stalls.
The England midfielder had been in Madrid and poised to complete his £33.7million move to Atletico, only for Samu Omorodion’s Chelsea switch to fall at the final hurdle.
Gallagher flew back to England last night, forced to head home while Chelsea and Atletico continue to work on solutions to complete his LaLiga move.
The 24-year-old is in limbo, with his Atletico switch hinging on whether Chelsea can instead strike a deal with the Madrid club to sign Joao Felix. Atletico need to raise funds through selling either Omorodion or Felix in order to ratify their deal for Gallagher, having signed Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez this week.
Gallagher is thought to be prepared to wait patiently while both Chelsea and Atletico try to thrash out a deal on Portugal forward Felix, that would then allow his move to Spain to go through.
Chelsea will open their season by hosting Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, while Atletico start their Spanish top-flight campaign at Villarreal on Monday night.
Both clubs are still pushing for a way to complete Gallagher’s move before the opening weekend’s fixtures.
Chelsea tied Cole Palmer down to a new contract on improved terms on Tuesday, extending his already long-term deal that ran until 2031 to 2033.
The Blues will continue to press for further additions, too, ahead of the August 30 transfer deadline.
Atletico are thought to have made tentative enquiries about the availability of former Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante, but his Saudi club Al Ittihad’s continued stance is that the France star is not for sale. A host of clubs across Europe have been confident of convincing Al Ittihad to sell the 33-year-old, but the Saudi outfit have rebuffed all approaches.
Atletico still want to complete the Gallagher deal, but are also exploring potential contingencies, with Kante appearing their favoured alternative despite Al Ittihad’s firm stance.
Chelsea’s move for the 20-year-old Atletico forward Omorodion broke down in the final contractual stages earlier this week, creating the hitch for Gallagher.
Atletico and the Blues quickly shifted their discussions to talk about a possible deal for Felix, who spent six months on loan at Stamford Bridge in the first half of 2023. Chelsea are thought to believe they can broker a deal on favourable terms, that could solve two problems in one swoop.
A Chelsea move for Felix would appear to suit all parties, with Atletico having been seeking a sale for the 41-cap Portugal star amid a fractured relationship.
