Despite making 50 appearances for Chelsea, even sporting the captain’s armband at times, and featuring for England at Euro 2024, Conor Gallagher is leaving Chelsea.
Contract negotiations between Gallagher and Chelsea fell apart last week, and although Gallagher wanted to stay at Stamford Bridge, he’s no longer part of Chelsea’s plans. A move to Atletico Madrid is imminent. Gallagher has flown to Madrid to complete a medical and put the finishing touches on a $44 million move.
Conor Gallagher’s move comes at a confusing time for Chelsea. Despite sacking Mauricio Pochettino and appointing Enzo Maresca as the manager, Chelsea still faces the same problems. A lack of clinicality and stability on the pitch, along with historic debts in the boardroom have led to catastrophic results under co-owner Todd Boehly.
Chelsea have taken steps to fix the first problem. They’ve spent upwards of $123 million in signings, including Leicester midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Aston Villa attacker Omari Kellyman.
Their second problem is more difficult. Chelsea faces transfer debts of over $186 million. Their plans to add 18,000 seats to Stamford Bridge could cost upwards of $2.5 billion. Despite the extravagant spending of Boehly and crew, they need to sell to avoid the Premier League’s PSR rules.
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It sets the stage for Chelsea’s frantic transfer saga with midfielder Conor Gallagher. With Chelsea figuring out their financial situation and shopping some key players around the transfer market, Gallagher recently refused two contract extensions. In turn, Chelsea informed Gallagher he wouldn’t be part of their first-team plans and locked him out of the first-team’s training center.
Chelsea accepted Atletico Madrid’s $44 million offer for Gallagher. Gallagher, still hopeful of returning to Chelsea, held out for a potential reverse, but it didn’t come. Torn between joining Atleti and entertaining interest from London rivals Tottenham, Gallagher decided to join Atletico Madrid.
The transfer is especially sweet for Chelsea since they can register their $44 million as pure profit. Gallagher is a homegrown player, meaning they won’t have to take care of any previous costs. It also opens up playing time for Dewsbury-Hall and midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka.
Gallagher is expected to ink a five-year contract with Atletico Madrid that could pay him as much as $12 million annually.
Gallagher is best known for his work rate. He’s a hard worker who can press for all 90 minutes. He embodies the Atletico Madrid spirit — gritty, defensively solid, and underrated technically. Gallagher could play anywhere in the midfield, but he’ll have a bit of trouble breaking into the starting eleven.
Gallagher slots in as one of the first-choice midfielders in Diego Simeone’s three-man midfield. Simeone currently relies on Rodrigo de Paul, Koke, and Marcos Llorente, with Pablo Barrios and Arthur Vermeeren coming off the bench.
The news follows Atleti’s pursuit of Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez. Alvarez could join for around $90 million, five times the amount City paid for Alvarez in 2022. He’s expected to fill the void up top after Alvaro Morata left for Milan. He’s been heralded as Antoine Griezmann’s successor.
Chelsea are still pushing to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen with their last major signing of the window. They’ll have to pay around $110 million to sign the Nigerian talisman, fighting off interest from PSG and Arsenal. They could also sign Atleti target man Samu Omorodion for around $38 million.
Photo: IMAGO / PA Images
