Conor Gallagher remains determined to join Atletico Madrid after his move from Chelsea hit a snag over the weekend.
Recently, Atletico reached a €40 million (£34.5m) agreement with Chelsea to acquire the England international.
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Chelsea had also arranged a separate deal with Atletico that would have seen the latter pay €40m (£34.5m) for 20-year-old striker Samu Omorodion.
However, Chelsea’s transaction for Omorodion fell through over the weekend when the forward, who netted eight goals in 35 appearances during his loan at Alaves last season, refused to accept the Premier League club’s requirement to include 50 percent of his rights in the deal.
Omorodion was dissatisfied with the proposal and is now unwilling to join Chelsea, leaving Atletico without sufficient funds to finalize deals for both Gallagher and Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez, who arrived at the Wanda Metropolitano on Monday afternoon to complete his £81.5m transfer.
Chelsea is now trying to negotiate a new agreement with Atletico for Joao Felix, who has already expressed his willingness to return to Stamford Bridge and accept a pay cut to facilitate the transfer.
Reports from Marca and Relevo indicate that both Chelsea and Atletico are keen to ensure Gallagher’s deal does not fall through, and both clubs are working towards a solution.
Gallagher, who has been in Madrid since Thursday, has also signed his contract with Atletico and is eager to move to La Liga.
When questioned about Gallagher’s situation and the reports suggesting that the midfielder, who has been with the club since he was eight, has been deemed surplus to requirements.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca commented last week: “Nobody is going to be a regular starter because if I say someone is going to be a regular starter, I think it is a lack of respect.
“For them, they need to work day by day very hard and show me and convince me they are to play but nobody knows. At this moment, there is something between the club and the player; an agreement to stay or to leave. These kinds of things happen in every club, every summer and in the end, the final decision will be good for everyone. Hopefully, the final decision will be good for Conor and the club.”
Meanwhile, Felix spent five months at Chelsea last year and scored 10 goals in 44 appearances during his loan spell with Barcelona last season.
The Spanish club, which finished 10 points behind Real Madrid in La Liga, was interested in signing Felix permanently. However, Barcelona is once again constrained in the transfer window due to financial difficulties.
