Conor Gallagher joins Atletico Madrid from Chelsea as Joao Felix moves in opposite direction

England midfielder Conor Gallagher finally completed his move to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, ending a weeks-long saga that required a move by Joao Felix in the opposite direction to facilitate the deal.

Gallagher joined Atletico for a reported 36 million pounds ($47 million) on a five-year deal. Hours later, Chelsea announced the signing of Felix, the Portugal forward, for a reported 45 million pounds ($59 million).

Chelsea wanted to sell Gallagher, an academy product and the team's vice-captain last season, to help the club meet the Premier League's financial requirements that are being more strictly applied in recent seasons.

Chelsea and Atletico reached an agreement on his transfer but it was in jeopardy last week, reportedly because of the collapse of a deal that would have seen Atletico striker Samu Omorodion move in the opposite direction.

That meant Gallagher had to return to Chelsea and train alone but a solution was reached, with Felix instead making the switch from Atletico to Chelsea.

Felix spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan at Chelsea, having previously become the third most expensive player of all time when Atletico triggered the 126 million euro (around $140 million) buyout clause in his contract in 2019 to sign him from Benfica.

“I’m really happy to be back at Chelsea and I can’t wait to get started,” he said. "I can see some familiar faces from the last time I was here, which is always nice.

“I loved my time here before and I told my friends and family that I’d love to return to the Premier League one day. To do that with Chelsea is a great feeling and I’m excited to be back.”

Felix was on loan at Barcelona last season.

Gallagher played for England at the recent European Championship and was one of Chelsea's best players last season. He has played 95 times for a club he joined as a 6-year-old, scoring 10 goals in total.

It continues a frenzied summer of transfer activity for Chelsea, which continues to overhaul its squad under its American owners.

Ten players have been signed in this transfer window at a cost of more than $250 million. Before that, Chelsea spent $280 million in the summer of 2022, $350 million in January 2023 and more than $400 million in the offseason of that year.

The arrival of Felix comes a week after Pedro Neto, another player who can fit in anywhere across the front three, joined from Wolverhampton.

Chelsea said Wednesday that Neto has taken the No. 7 jersey previously owned by Raheem Sterling, a winger who looks surplus to requirements at the club now. Sterling didn't even make the bench in the 2-0 loss to Manchester City on Sunday, which was Chelsea's opening match of the Premier League season.

“I’m not saying Raheem is not a good player,” Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said. “But I prefer different kind of wingers.

“I just tried to be honest. I spoke with Raheem before City. I said he’s going to struggle to get minutes with us."

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Steve Douglas, The Associated Press