Conor Gallagher returns to Chelsea and is EXILED by Enzo Maresca

Tom Weber

Updated: 13 Aug 2024 13:34 BST
4 min read

Conor Gallagher is set to return to Chelsea after his five-day sojourn to Madrid.

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The Blues midfielder's move to Atletico Madrid has not yet officially collapsed, but Gallagher will travel back to London while Chelsea and the LaLiga giants attempt to find a solution.

Atletico, having already signed Julian Alvarez for €95 million, need to sell someone before they can afford to spend €40m on Gallagher. With Samu Omorodion out of the picture, talks have centred around Joao Felix.

The problem is that Atletico value the Portuguese much higher than the Spanish youngster given that they shelled out €127m on him in 2019. While Omorodion would have been something of a straight swap with Gallagher, the capital club are demanding a significant fee for Felix.

Indeed, the 24-year-old is essentially on superstar money while being nothing more than a rotation player for several years. This means that negotiations have proved tricky to the point where Chelsea have ordered Gallagher to return after training alone and staying in a hotel in Madrid.

Gallagher to train with U21s

According to Sky Sports, Gallagher will be given a few days off after the drama of the past week. However, once he returns, the 24-year-old is expected to be forced to train with the U21s.

This is the treatment Chelsea are dishing out to their unwanted players, a fate which has already befallen Trevoh Chalobah, Romelu Lukaku and Armando Broja, all of whom are star players the Blues are trying to offload before the window shuts.

Ben Jacobs, meanwhile, reports that Chelsea don't really care where Gallagher ends up as long as he brings in the cash they are demanding rather than leaving for free next year. They are happy to move on from the talks with Atletico and find a different suitor, preferably outside of England.

Intriguingly, Jacobs also reports that the offer to extend Gallagher's deal could also be revisited, though it would surely be an awkward situation for Gallagher to eventually be reinstated after being forced to train with the youth team.

The 24-year-old has reportedly rebuffed three extension proposals due to Chelsea only offering a renewal of two seasons with an additional optional year, something which does not appeal to Gallagher considering that his teammates are fitted with six, seven and even eight-year deals.

Read more about: La Liga, Premier League, Atlético, Chelsea, Conor Gallagher, Joao Felix