Chelsea have agreed terms with Atletico Madrid for Conor Gallagher; England midfielder turned down the offer of a contract extension from Chelsea on Wednesday; Gallagher is believed to be interested in a move to Atletico; Chelsea waiting on a decision from the 24-year-old
Friday 2 August 2024 15:07, UK
Chelsea have agreed terms with Atletico Madrid for Conor Gallagher after the England midfielder turned down the offer of a contract extension on Wednesday.
Gallagher turned down a new three-year contract extension - two years plus the option of another year - to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge. He also turned down the offer of an extension to his deal in early June.
Chelsea have now agreed a deal with Atletico - a fee of just under £34m (€40m) - in a bid to help resolve the player's future.
Gallagher is believed to be interested in a move to Atletico and Chelsea will do everything they can to support his move to Spain, if that is what he wants.
The Blues are now waiting for Gallagher, whose current deal at Stamford Bridge runs out next summer, and his camp to decide what he wants to do.
The England international is now considering his options with no agreement on personal terms with Atletico yet.
The Spanish side will continue to look at other targets in midfield while Gallagher considers his options.
The salary Chelsea have offered him is comparable to the highest earners in their midfield and is believed to be comparable to other salary offers he has received.
The 24-year-old also turned down interest in a contract extension in the autumn of 2022 because he wanted to be a regular starter and not a squad player. He became a regular starter last season.
Chelsea accepted a larger bid from Aston Villa for Gallagher this summer but he decided to reject a move to Villa Park and stay at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea would prefer to sell him to a club abroad rather than a Premier League rival.
Earlier on Wednesday we reported that Atletico were aware of interest in Gallagher from Tottenham.
Chelsea expect Tottenham to make a bid for the 24-year-old. Ange Postecoglou's side have a long-term interest in the 24-year-old and tried to sign him last summer.
Spurs, though, are concentrating on getting players out of their squad first.
Putting too much weight onto pre-season results is a perennial trap that must be avoided. But while alarm bells may not yet be ringing at Chelsea, their performances during their US tour so far will have many fans concerned that a summer of off-field upheaval has brought further problems on the pitch.
New boss Enzo Maresca shrugged that his side "are going to concede goals" with the play-out-from-the-back style he is trying to impose after defensive errors saw Chelsea struggle to a 2-2 draw with League One Wrexham in their first outing Stateside.
But letting in four against Celtic was probably beyond his acceptable allowance.
In both games - with all the caveats of pre-season in place - Chelsea looked open, unsure and error-prone. Whether it was Wrexham or Celtic forwards, there was repeatedly space in behind to exploit - or Chelsea defenders giving the ball back to the opposition in dangerous areas.
Read Pete Smith's feature on Chelsea's troubling pre-season here.
July 25: Chelsea 2-2 Wrexham
July 27: Chelsea 1-4 Celtic
August 1: Chelsea vs Club America - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, kick-off 12am
August 3: Chelsea vs Man City - Ohio Stadium, Columbus, kick-off 10.30pm
August 7: Chelsea vs Real Madrid - Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, kick-off 12am
August 11: Chelsea vs Inter Milan - Stamford Bridge, kick-off 3pm
The 2024 summer transfer window officially closes on August 30 at 11pm UK time in the Premier League and 11.30pm in Scotland.
The Premier League has brought forward Deadline Day to link up with the other major leagues in Europe. The closing dates were set following discussions with the leagues in England, Germany, Italy, Spain and France.
