Atletico Madrid will dangle the carrot of helping Conor Gallagher advance his England career in bidding to convince the Chelsea star to trade Stamford Bridge for the Spanish capital.
Chelsea have accepted a £33million bid from Atletico for academy graduate Gallagher, and now the La Liga club will try to lure the 24-year-old away from his boyhood club. Atletico believe that handing Gallagher extensive La Liga and Champions League action will help him command a regular starting berth with England.
The Blues would prefer to sell Gallagher to an overseas side rather than a Premier League rival, so have agreed a fee falling below that of a bid from Aston Villa that was accepted earlier this summer. Gallagher rejected the Villa move, in addition to Chelsea's offer of a new contract that would keep him at Stamford Bridge beyond next summer.
The England midfielder has now entered the final year of his Chelsea deal, and could have a wider set of interested clubs on the table as a free agent next year. Chelsea have been prepared to sell Gallagher all summer however, and Tottenham had retained long-term interest but are not now expected to press for a deal.
Gallagher captained Chelsea 30 times last season, taking the armband regularly when club skipper Reece James was sidelined with injury issues. Mauricio Pochettino regarded Gallagher as one of his most important players, but Chelsea have invested heavily in midfield talent and the Stamford Bridge squad boasts no shortage of central options for new boss Enzo Maresca.
Most Popular
Comments / 0