Conor Gallagher stranded in Madrid with Chelsea asked to pay £15m to SELL vice-captain to Atletico

CONOR GALLAGHER is stranded in Madrid while Chelsea thrash out an exit package for their frustrated England star.

The midfielder is caught in the middle of a complex £50million transfer tussle with Atletico Madrid as his move hangs in the balance.

Conor Gallagher is stranded in Madrid while Chelsea and Atletico negotiate his futureGetty

Getty

Joao Felix could return to Chelsea in exchange for the midfielder[/caption]

There are only five days until Chelsea play their first game of the season against Premier League champions Manchester City.

Blues’ vice-captain Gallagher has been in the Spanish capital since the weekend, poised to join Champions League Atletico with striker Samu Omorodion moving the other way.

But the collapse of that deal on Sunday night has left the Euro 2024 player high and dry while the clubs try to sort out an alternative deal.

Chelsea have been offered forward Joao Felix instead and are keen but Atletico Madrid rate the Portuguese at £50m.

The initial fees for both Gallagher and Omorodion were set at around £35m.

The new twist means Chelsea are being asked to stump up an extra £15m for a sale to go ahead.

In the meantime, fans’ favourite Gallagher is sitting it out to see if his 16-year association with his boyhood club is actually coming to an end – or if he is heading back to Stamford Bridge.

He has just one year left on his contract and if he doesn’t move now will be free to leave at the end of this season for nothing.

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Chelsea were hopeful of signing Spanish youth striker Omorodion to beef up their forward line but a combination of factors scuppered it.

A problem with the length of contract surfaced at the last minute with the player looking to reduce the length from seven to five or six years.

And a medical issue also cropped up. A muscular problem forced Omorodion to miss Spain’s Olympic Gold Medal winning victory over France last week.

Felix spent half a season on loan at Chelsea in 2023 and was a relative success, scoring four goals. Both he and the club were keen to extend the arrangement.

But a change of manager when Graham Potter was eventually replaced by Mauricio Pochettino triggered a change of heart.

A return could now be on the cards with the matter resting on whether new Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca wants the player enough.

The whole saga is becoming the latest complicated chapter of a busy summer in the transfer market for Chelsea.

They have signed 11 players in all, with the £51m arrival of Wolves’ winger Pedro Neto taking their spending to more than £150m in total.

Chelsea Under-23 winger Diego Moreira is joining sister club RC Strasbourg on loan for the season.

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