Conor Gallagher is flying back from Madrid tonight as his planned transfer to Atletico Madrid could fall through.
The Blues academy graduate has spent the past five days in Spain discussing the details of a £33.7million transfer to the capital between his boyhood club and the LaLiga big boys.
But Atlético will have to sell one of their own players to complete the deal and sign Gallagher, after a successful summer in which they lured Julian Alvarez away from Manchester City.
It is believed Gallagher has been told he will be just another player under new manager Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge.
However, as he is still at Chelsea, the club are said to have asked the player to return to England while talks are ongoing.
Conor Gallagher returns to England to serve out his time before heading to Spain.
The Chelsea academy product is considered surplus to requirements for Enzo Maresca’s new demands
Gallagher and his family have spent the past few days in Spain awaiting confirmation of their move
Chelsea have approached a number of Atlético players and it seemed like this was the answer to the club’s prayers.
The West London giants have set their sights on a £34.5million move for young attacker Samu Omorodion.
But at the last minute, the 20-year-old player reportedly called off the transfer, after which Chelsea once again showed interest in former loanee Joao Felix.
The Portuguese star previously spent the second half of the 2022-23 season at Stamford Bridge, but was deemed surplus to requirements by then-new manager Mauricio Pochettino.
The two clubs are again in talks over the 24-year-old, who has scored four goals in his 20 games in Chelsea blue.
Diego Simeone will have to lose players to bring in Gallagher for next season
Atletico Madrid misfit Joao Felix could still go the other way as the club looks to sell players
Felix, who is valued at £55million by Chelsea, was previously offered as a quid pro quo to Man City when the teams agreed an initial £64million deal for Alvarez shortly after he joined Barcelona on loan last season.
Felix became the fourth most expensive player in history in July 2019 when Benfica sold him to Atlético for £114 million.
The Portuguese international played for Diego Simeone’s side in pre-season, but his future remains uncertain.
Should Atlético fail to strike a deal with the Premier League club, Chelsea could be left with an angry figure in an increasingly tight dressing room.
Atletico youngster Samu Omorodion is believed to have called off a move to Chelsea late in the game
Pedro Neto became Chelsea’s 10th signing on Sunday in another busy summer of the Clearlake Capital era
The Blues have played a very active role in the transfer window so far and will be hoping to add further players to their squad with Maresca joining their attacking ranks.
Chelsea recently announced the signing of Pedro Neto from Wolves for £54 million. This was confirmed during half-time of the friendly against Internazionale on Sunday (1-1).
The winger’s arrival takes the West London club’s squad to an impressive 43 players, with 10 signings made in this transfer window alone.
