Chelsea Transfer Chaos: Gallagher’s Atletico Madrid Move in Jeopardy as He’s Recalled to London

Chelsea transfer chaos as Blues order Gallagher to return to London as £34m deal hangs in limbo
Conor Gallagher’s move to Atletico Madrid is now in doubt as Chelsea have booked him a flight back to London following the latest transfer twist.

The 24-year-old has been linked with an exit all summer and despite plenty of Premier League interest, a move to Atletico Madrid has been on the cards for the past few weeks.

Gallagher flew over to Spain on Friday to complete his medical, but the deal is now in jeopardy. Samu Omorodion was supposed to be moving in the opposite direction from Atletico to Chelsea, but that deal has since collapsed, thus putting the Gallagher deal into doubt.

Chelsea have insisted that they see both deals as separate, but for the time being, Gallagher’s transfer to Atletico Madrid has not been fully completed.

It’s since been reported that Chelsea have made a £54m bid for Atletico’s Joao Felix, who spent the second half of the 2022/23 campaign on loan at Stamford Bridge.

Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on Gallagher’s situation and how things could unfold in the coming days.

“Chelsea request Conor Gallagher to return to London on Tuesday, set to book flight,” Romano confirmed on X.

“Door remains open for Gallagher to join Atleti after medical done, up to all parties involved.”

Romano also clarified that Gallagher’s move to Atletico Madrid has ‘not collapsed’ as of yet, with the La Liga club having the documents ready to complete the signing.

However, while the transfer remains in limbo for the time being, it appears as if Gallagher will be flying back to London unless a new development emerges.

The Chelsea midfielder is now in the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge and the club runs the risk of losing him for nothing if he doesn’t depart this summer.

Chelsea did offer him a new three-year contract extension a few weeks ago, but Gallagher rejected that offer amid talks with Atletico Madrid.

When discussing Gallagher’s potential £33.7m move to Spain, Enzo Maresca told reporters: “What I know is Conor and the club are talking about a decision….hopefully, the final decision will be something good for Conor and the club.

“No one is a starter. They have to work day by day and convince me they have to play.

“I am convinced everyone is a squad player. I think it’s wrong to say Conor, or Enzo [Fernandez], or Moi [Caicedo], is a starter. It’s disrespectful to the other players. They are all squad players.”

With the new Premier League season set to kick off this weekend, Chelsea will be keen to iron out this situation with Gallagher as soon as possible.

Chelsea’s opening-day fixture is a tough task against Manchester City and Maresca will no doubt want to iron out Gallagher’s situation before then.