England midfielder Conor Gallagher finally completed his move to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, ending a weeks-long saga that required a move by Joao Felix in the opposite direction to facilitate the deal.
Gallagher joined Atletico for a reported ￡36 million (US$47.2 million) on a five-year deal. Hours later, Chelsea announced the signing of Felix, the Portugal forward, for a reported ￡45 million.
Chelsea wanted to sell Gallagher, an academy product and the team’s vice-captain last season, to help the club meet the English Premier League’s financial requirements that are being more strictly applied in recent seasons.
Photo: Reuters
Chelsea and Atletico reached an agreement on his transfer, but it was in jeopardy last week, reportedly because of the collapse of a deal that would have seen Atletico striker Samu Omorodion move in the opposite direction.
That meant Gallagher had to return to Chelsea and train alone, but a solution was reached, with Felix instead making the switch from Atletico to Chelsea.
Felix spent the second half of the 2022-2023 season on loan at Chelsea, having previously become the third-most expensive player of all time when Atletico triggered the 126 million euros (about US$140 million) buyout clause in his contract in 2019 to sign him from Benfica.
Photo: Reuters
“I’m really happy to be back at Chelsea and I can’t wait to get started,” he said. “I can see some familiar faces from the last time I was here, which is always nice.
“I loved my time here before and I told my friends and family that I’d love to return to the Premier League one day. To do that with Chelsea is a great feeling and I’m excited to be back,” he added.
Felix was on loan at Barcelona last season.
Photo: AP
Gallagher played for England at the UEFA Euro 2024 and was one of Chelsea’s best players last season. He has played 95 times for a club he joined as a 6-year-old, scoring 10 goals in total.
It continues a frenzied summer of transfer activity for Chelsea, which continues to overhaul its squad under its American owners.
Ten players have been signed in this transfer window at a cost of more than US$250 million. Before that, Chelsea spent US$280 million in the summer of 2022, US$350 million in January last year and more than US$400 million in the off season of that year.
The arrival of Felix comes a week after Pedro Neto, another player who can fit in anywhere across the front three, joined from Wolverhampton.
Chelsea on Wednesday said that Neto has taken the No. 7 jersey previously owned by Raheem Sterling, a winger who looks surplus to requirements at the club now.
Sterling did not even make the bench in the 2-0 loss to Manchester City on Sunday, which was Chelsea’s opening match of the Premier League season.
“I’m not saying Raheem is not a good player,” Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said. “But I prefer different kind of wingers.
“I just tried to be honest. I spoke with Raheem before City. I said he’s going to struggle to get minutes with us,” he added.
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