New Delhi: Fernando Torres, Diego Costa, Radamel Falcao, Felipe Luis, Joao Felix, and Alvaro Morata are all players who have played for both Atletico Madrid and Chelsea and it looks like Conor Gallagher is going to be the latest addition to this list. The Spanish giants have had the English midfielder on their list since May and have now finally initiated conversations to bring the midfielder over to Spain.
Gallagher is a complete box-to-box midfielder who can contribute both in attack and in defence. He has an excellent work rate and is a proper workhorse midfielder who is not afraid to put in a tackle and is also capable of scoring a screamer. He fits in perfectly in the Atletico Madrid mould of players and would work well in Diego Simeone’s system.
Atletico Madrid are looking for a new, young midfielder as all their current options are in and around 30. Rodrigo De Paul and Marcos Llorente are approaching 30 while Koke is 31. Moreover, they have also sent Saul on loan to Sevilla and he made 49 appearances for them last season so they’ll need to replace him adequately. Thomas Lemar has been riddled with injuries throughout his time in Spain and Arthur Vermeeren is too unproven currently leaving Pablo Barrios as the only young midfielder in the team.
🚨🔴⚪️ EXCLUSIVE: Atlético Madrid and Chelsea are now in direct talks for Conor Gallagher deal.
Negotiations underway for package worth around €35/40m add-ons included, requested by Chelsea.
Gallagher, on top of Atlético list as revealed in May — now getting closer. pic.twitter.com/1SFMadRGtD
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 30, 2024
The addition of Gallagher could be a vital one for the team and it seems like they’re negotiating a package worth €35-40 million including add-ons, which is around the figure that Chelsea are asking for their stand-in captain. The negotiations between both clubs are underway and they will look to resolve this deal before their respective seasons start in mid-August.
The 23-year-old is a product of the Chelsea academy and has been at the club since 2008 when he was just eight years old. He is what Chelsea fans like to call ‘Proper Chels’ as he plays for the badge, something not a lot of players at the club seem to be doing off-late. However, the club deems him surplus to requirements and have been looking to offload the player since last summer as his sale helps them keep in line with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.
It is reported that one of the reasons why Mauricio Pochettino left the club in the summer was because of his stance on Gallagher. The Argentine wanted to keep him in the squad and build around him and it was evident that he was a fan of the midfielder considering Gallagher was given the armband for almost the entire season, given the absence of captain and vice-captain, Reece James and Ben Chilwell.
Only Martin Ødegaard (41) won possession in the attacking third more times than Conor Gallagher (39) in the Premier League last season. 💪 pic.twitter.com/d1QIFYpNVk
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) June 13, 2024
He made 50 appearances for the club all season, scoring seven and assisting another nine under Pochettino and had his best season at the club. However, with the midfielder entering the final year of his contract now, the club are looking to cash in on him in this window.
While he loves the club and wants to stay, the fact that the board is actively looking to offload him for a profit and that Atletico Madrid can offer UEFA Champions League football, something Chelsea can’t might push him to edge closer to a move to Los Rojablancos.
Atletico Madrid are locked in negotiations with Chelsea for English midfielder Conor Gallagher in a bid to bolster their midfield. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
