Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher flying back to London as Atlético Madrid move remains in stand-by

As per Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher is set to fly back to London from Madrid, as his proposed move to Atlético Madrid currently remains in stand-by.

The 24-year-old has already completed his medical and key documents ahead of the move, but Atlético are yet to make the ‘final signature’ to seal the deal completely, after Chelsea’s signing of their striker Samu Omorodion collapsed because of ‘major issues’ at the last minute.

Due to both Gallagher and Omorodion set to swap sides for around £35million each, the former’s move to the Spanish capital was heavily reliant on the 20-year-old going in the other direction, and so the sudden collapse has subsequently seen Gallagher wait in alone in a Madrid hotel room for around five days – long enough for Chelsea to now book him a flight back to West London.

Furthermore, with the England international expected to be a ‘squad player’ under new manager Enzo Maresca, and holding a contract set to expire next summer, Gallagher is not expected to be part of first-team training upon his return, and The Blues, and Atlético, are both constantly looking for solutions to complete the deal.

This has seen talks commence between the two sides over a potential deal for João Félix, who’s agent Jorge Mendes is currently in London to discuss the proposition. The Portuguese talent impressed during his six month loan at Chelsea in the 2022/23 campaign, but, having spent the last season on loan at Barcelona, is now set to be offloaded by Diego Simeone’s side – who signed him for a club-record €127m in July 2019.

As such, with a variety of ever-changing factors set to impact Gallagher’s move to Madrid, any potential developments remain possible.

Meanwhile, after just completing a €60m deal for Pedro Neto from Wolves, Chelsea will continue to work on other outgoings and incomings. David Datro Fofana, Armando Broja, and Trevoh Chalobah are all set to be sold, wonderkids Gabriel Mec from Grêmio and Mike Penders of Genk are set to sign for the future, whilst talks are ongoing with Napoli over separate deals for Romelu Lukaku and Victor Osimhen.

Travis Levison | Get Football