Chelsea exile Gallagher gets green light for Atletico transfer – Romano

Chelsea have given Conor Gallagher the green light to complete his Atletico Madrid transfer, according to Fabrizio Romano.

One of the strangest transfer sagas of the summer is nearing its conclusion. Chelsea have reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid to re-sign former loanee Joao Felix on a permanent deal, thereby unblocking Gallagher’s exit.

The England international has been pushed out of Stamford Bridge by a Chelsea hierarchy desperate to raise ‘pure profit,’ with the 24-year-old one of many homegrowns to be sacrificed under the free-spending Todd Boehly regime.

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Though Gallagher received multiple contract offers from Chelsea, they were all relatively short-term deals, running for a maximum of three seasons – a far cry from the terms offered to his teammates and, indeed to his replacement Felix, who is set to be handed a six-year deal with the option for a further 12 months.

Gallagher eventually agreed to a move to Atletico Madrid after Chelsea had managed to strike a €42 million deal.

Gallagher saga ends

However, his move was ultimately delayed despite the fact that he had already completed his medical signed his contract and the club had already posted a picture of him at their ground.

Chelsea had initially wanted to sign Samu Omorodion in exchange for Gallagher, but his transfer collapsed leaving the Englishman in limbo. He was eventually ordered to return to London where has been training with the rest of Chelsea’s outcasts away from the senior squad.

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Following the agreement over Felix, however, Gallagher has now received the green light from Chelsea to head back to Spain and finally complete his Atletico Madrid move, Fabrizio Romano reports. All the paperwork remains valid, so the only thing missing is Felix’s move going through.

This, then, would free up the necessary funds for the LaLiga giants to sign Gallagher. The midfielder is expected to be in Madrid within the next 24 to 48 hours, Romano states.