Conor Gallagher is expected to sign for Atletico Madrid shortly after agreeing to a five-year contract with the Spanish team and the Premier League club reaching a deal worth around $44 million. The 24-year-old has been cleared by the London club to travel to the Spanish capital and undergo medical treatment ahead of the proposed move, which could be completed later this week. Gallagher is a popular figure in Chelsea’s squad but the Blues opted to let him go, which has divided many supporters.
We explain why this step is about to happen.
Why is Chelsea selling Gallagher?
The issue of Gallagher’s future is not new and has been the subject of discussion for over a year due to the large influx of players to Stamford Bridge since the arrival of Todd Boehly with Clearlake’s takeover of the club. These high expenses have meant that turnover had to be brought into line with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR). Apart from other club assets such as the women’s team and hotels, academy players are one of the best sources of profit. They essentially represent pure profit for a selling club as there are no pre-existing acquisition costs to amortize over the life of their contracts. Gallagher joined the club at the age of eight and has gone on to become an England international, so he has long been considered one of the obvious talents to sell into the academy given his high profile with other EPL clubs interested to sign him.
Didn’t they just offer him a new deal?
Chelsea have offered Gallagher extended terms on more than one occasion in recent times, but the problem with these proposals was that they were too short for the player who wanted something longer that the club was unwilling to commit to. Enzo Maresca seems less impressed with Gallagher than previous bosses, but the real aim behind Chelsea’s bids was to extend the deal beyond 2025 so the Londoners could sell him for longer in case the contract expired without a deal in place Closed. Essentially, the club offered a new contract to keep Gallagher’s value high and prevent him from having to sell for a low fee to a Premier League rival one day.
What were the alternatives?
Tottenham Hotspur were very keen and were linked with a bid of around $64 million, while Aston Villa also showed interest. However, the deal agreed with Atleti is much lower and reflects Chelsea’s need to sell outweighing their desire to keep Gallagher. Fellow academy graduates Ian Maatsen, Omari Hutchinson and Lewis Hall have already moved this summer for a combined $110 million ahead of this deal, which is good news in terms of PSR issues.
Is Atleti a good landing spot?
Whether Spain and Atleti are a good fit for Gallagher remains to be seen, but Diego Simeone’s selection will certainly be an interesting landing spot for the Three Lions star. Los Colchoneros will be looking to compete more seriously with bitter rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona at the top of La Liga and the Englishman is a boost to the Argentine’s squad. Culturally it may take some work, but Gallagher arrives as part of an interesting overhaul alongside Robin Le Normand and Alexander Sorloth with Julian Alvarez also sought after. Add to that the departure of Alvaro Morata, along with other veterans such as Stefan Savic, Gabriel Paulista, Memphis Depay, Vitolo, Mario Hermoso and Caglar Soyuncu, and Gallagher’s arrival is looking pretty sharp. Add to that the fact that Chelsea will be happy to have kept him out of the hands of the Premier League and it might be the best possible landing spot once it was decided the move absolutely had to go ahead.
