Valencia’s sporting director, Miguel Angel Corona, has alleged that Atletico Madrid attempted to abandon their agreement to sign Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher in order to secure funding for another midfielder.
Gallagher traveled to Madrid on Monday to complete a medical and finalize his transfer to Atletico.
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The England international, who has been with Chelsea since he was eight, has made 95 appearances for the club and served as captain frequently last season.
However, the 24-year-old was unable to reach terms on a new contract at Stamford Bridge and now appears set to join La Liga after being informed he was unlikely to play a significant role under the new Blues manager, Enzo Maresca.
While Gallagher’s move to Diego Simeone’s team is imminent, it has recently come to light that there was a potential last-minute change in the situation.
Alongside their pursuit of Gallagher, Atletico was also considering a move for midfielder Javi Guerra but faced a firm deadline from his current club, Valencia.
The transfer for Guerra eventually fell through, but Valencia’s sporting director Corona has claimed that Atletico was at one point seeking to cancel their agreement with Chelsea for Gallagher to revive the Guerra deal.
“There is a maximum agreement [between clubs] on Sunday, plus it was between the president of Valencia and the maximum shareholder of Atletico Madrid,” Corona said.
“On Monday, the documentation was processed, and similarly, it progressed alongside the player, who was nearing the conclusion of the agreement.
“On Wednesday morning, due to delays in receiving Atletico’s documents and some remarks made, a specific inquiry was made to Atletico’s owner about the situation and the reason for the delay.
“The response was that they were attempting to withdraw from the Chelsea deal and that, if unsuccessful, they could not proceed with the Javi Guerra deal.”
Chelsea was reportedly unaware of Atletico’s plans to potentially back out of the Gallagher transfer.
As Gallagher moves to Spain, Chelsea will receive striker Samu Omorodion in a separate deal.
