Chelsea star ‘not good enough’ for Aston Villa ‘getting closer’ to Atletico Madrid transfer

Conor Gallagher is closing in on a move to Atletico Madrid after Chelsea entered ‘direct talks’ with the La Liga side over a deal, according to reports.

The Blues are looking to bring in some money this summer from sales and Gallagher would represent the best type of departure with their former academy graduate going down as pure profit under the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules .

Gallagher played 37 Premier League matches for Chelsea last season, contributing five goals and seven assists, and has become a fan favourite at Stamford Bridge.

But he is clearly not going to be part of Enzo Maresca’s plans and the Chelsea board seem keen to offload the midfielder this summer after bringing in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Omari Kellyman, Renato Veiga, Caleb Wiley and Marc Guiu.

The Blues have already moved on Lewis Hall, Omari Hutchinson and Ian Maatsen for fees this summer, while Hakim Ziyech, Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr have all left the Premier League club on free transfers.

And now transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Chelsea and Atletico Madrid are ‘in direct talks’ over a deal worth a potential €40m for Gallagher.

Romano wrote on X : ‘Atlético Madrid and Chelsea are now in direct talks for Conor Gallagher deal. Negotiations underway for package worth around €35/40m add-ons included, requested by Chelsea. Gallagher, on top of Atlético list as revealed in May — now getting closer.’

Former Bayern Munich striker Alan McInally insisted that Gallagher – who was heavily linked with Aston Villa earlier this summer – is not good enough to play for Unai Emery’s side.

McInally said earlier this month: “Nope…..no. I don’t think he’s good enough to play for Aston Villa.

“He’s a good player, he’s done alright but I can’t for the life of me understand how he got in the England squad and plays in front of some other players. Then again, that is the choice of Gareth Southgate. He has to stand by that.

“I don’t see Conor Gallagher making Aston Villa any better and I want players to come to my football club that are exceptionally better than Conor Gallagher and that’s just the way I feel.

“He’s a good player, he’s done very well for himself but I don’t see him being an Aston Villa player. I don’t know how much he’s going to cost but at the same time I don’t see the fit there.”

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And former Chelsea defender Glen Johnson wants Gallagher to stay at Stamford Bridge in the summer as he was one of the Blues’ “few highlights” last term.

Johnson said: “Conor Gallagher is a guy who knows the club inside out, a local boy who works his socks off. He’s one of Chelsea’s few highlights throughout the season, so I don’t think he should be someone who should even be spoken about leaving – I’d do my best to keep him.

“Chelsea need to get back to finding their core. All these top teams have the core, four to six players who don’t change, whereas Chelsea is changing all the time. You can’t build the foundations like that when people are playing bit-part seasons for nine months.

“The manager needs to find their core character who is the first name on the team sheet every week. If he can do that, I can see them climbing up the table – but when you’re chopping and changing all the time, it’s so hard to gain momentum.”