Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has told one £50 million player to consider leaving with Conor Gallagher and Romelu Lukaku, with the former on his way to Atletico Madrid and the latter closing in on a transfer to Napoli.
Gallagher joins Atletico Madrid as Chelsea work to sell Lukaku
After being in limbo for a while, and ever since Chelsea’s move for Samu Omorodion collapsed at the eleventh hour, Gallagher’s switch to Atletico is now set to be completed.
The 24-year-old’s transfer to La Liga was under real threat after Omorodion rejected a move to Chelsea due to contractual issues, as Diego Simeone’s side needed to sell one of their squad members to Stamford Bridge so they could reinvest the money in signing Gallagher.
Luckily for the England international, Chelsea opened talks to sign Joao Felix as an alternative to Omorodion, and they’ve now reached an agreement which could be worth up to £46.3 million, including add-ons.
| Chelsea’s best-performing players in the Premier League last season | Average match rating (WhoScored) |
|---|---|
| Cole Palmer | 7.48 |
| Conor Gallagher | 7.13 |
| Nicolas Jackson | 7.07 |
| Moises Caicedo | 6.85 |
| Noni Madueke | 6.84 |
This has re-opened the door for Gallagher to swap the Premier League for Atletico, with the transfer domino back on and looking set to finally reach its conclusion this week.
🚨🔵 João Félix back to Chelsea, here we go! Deal in place with Atlético Madrid and his agent Jorge Mendes.
Contract until June 2030 plus option for João, as travel and medical tests being booked for next 24/48h.
Gallagher-Atléti, João-Chelsea.
Exclusive story, confirmed. 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/OBjy7vg58V
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 19, 2024
After sealing both Felix’s arrival and Gallagher’s exit, it appears the next main priority for Chelsea this week is finally offloading flop striker Romelu Lukaku, three years after he re-joined the Blues in a £98 million deal from Inter Milan.
Reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano claims Chelsea have their full focus on selling Lukaku to Napoli, so we could expect significant developments on the saga in these coming days.
“Understand Romelu Lukaku and Napoli are getting closer,” wrote Romano on X.
“Official bid on the table. Club to club talks now into key stages as Chelsea decision is clear: Lukaku and Osimhen, SEPARATE topics. Full focus on selling Lukaku, then Osimhen story eventually for final days.”
The Belgian’s days in west London appear numbered, but he isn’t the only high-profile name who could leave Chelsea after Gallagher.
Maresca tells Sterling to consider leaving Chelsea this summer
Winger Raheem Sterling and his future under Maresca has been a real source of debate, ever since the Englishman was left out of Chelsea’s Premier League matchday squad to face Manchester City on Sunday.
According to The Guardian and reliable journalist Jacob Steinberg, Maresca has told Sterling to consider leaving Chelsea before the window shuts, and the 29-year-old personally fears he will play no further role at the club.
On a reported £325,000-per-week, Boehly signed Sterling from City for around £50 million two years ago. He’s made a total of 81 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea, scoring 19 goals and bagging a further 12 assists, but the signing of Felix means he’s been pushed further down Maresca’s pecking order.
[Sterling] is brilliant, really nice guy and top player of course, you see his career,” said Gallagher on Sterling’s influence at Chelsea (via BBC Sport).
“He’s been really professional and a leader at Chelsea so credit to him, he’s mentally very strong and hopefully he can keep playing like he played against Burnley because he’s why we got that win.
“You need a bit of experience [in the squad] and when you’ve got young players in the squad, I think Raheem helps a lot of young players. He shows his experience and his qualities on the pitch and he’s very appreciated at Chelsea.”
