Gallagher back at Chelsea as Atletico move stalls

Conor Gallagher is expected to return to training at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground on Wednesday, after landing back in London with his Atletico Madrid transfer in the balance.

The England international, 24, was pictured in the La Liga club’s Metropolitano Stadium on Saturday and spent five days in a hotel in Madrid but has been unable to complete his £33m move.

It was halted because Chelsea’s £34.5m deal to sign Spanish striker Samu Omorodion collapsed over personal terms on Sunday.

The Spanish club need to make a major sale to fund their move for Gallagher after signing Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez for £81.5m on Monday.

The Gallagher deal is not considered to be off at the moment but remains under threat of collapse.

If Chelsea sign Portugal forward Joao Felix from Atletico it could salvage Gallagher’s move – but a fee must first be agreed.

Felix is ready to return to Chelsea after spending six months on loan at the club in 2023.

However, if a fee cannot be agreed for Felix then Gallagher’s transfer will likely collapse.

Chelsea want to sell Gallagher to avoid losing him on a free transfer, with just 11 months left on his contract.

Gallagher, who captained Chelsea for much of last season, made five appearances at Euro 2024 as England reached the final.

On Saturday, Atletico had posted a picture of Gallagher at their stadium saying he was there to “finalise his transfer”.

This Gallagher situation is unusual and bordering on the unprecedented.

It brings up memories of now-retired Nigeria striker Peter Odemwingie waiting in the QPR carpark on deadline day of 2013 and being unable to complete his move from West Brom.

Of course, this situation has yet to fully play out. It looks messy, with Gallagher door-stepped by Spanish journalists at his hotel, but unable to answer questions about what is going on.

Gallagher has since returned to England and is keen to avoid controversy. He loves Chelsea but knows a move to Atletico Madrid is the best option to continue playing regular football.

Chelsea and Atletico Madrid still want to do a deal.

But both ambitious clubs are in a similar position and need to fulfil the requirements of their balance sheets, which have been pushing towards the limits of the financial control rules in football.

This situation is similar to the flurry of ‘PSR swap deals’ at the end of June when multiple Premier League clubs traded players to try to comply before accounting deadlines.

Omorodion put a spanner in the works by surprising officials at both clubs and rejecting personal terms.

It’s unfortunate that Gallagher, who has done nothing wrong, has been left in such a difficult position as each side fights for their interests.