Chelsea: Gallagher hits back at ‘untrue’ transfer theory as he reveals his side of ‘strange’ summer saga
Atletico Madrid newbie Conor Gallagher has refuted claims suggesting he is not good enough technically to play for Chelsea under Enzo Maresca.
The England international left boyhood club Chelsea in the summer as he joined La Liga giants Atletico Madrid in a deal worth around £34m.
The Blues were always likely to cash in on Gallagher in the summer as his previous contract was due to expire at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur were mooted as potential destinations for Gallagher but Atletico Madrid eventually won the race to sign him.
Having already invested an initial £64m to sign Julian Alvarez, Atletico Madrid needed to sell a pricey asset before they could sign Gallagher and the Englishman’s move was in doubt after Chelsea’s deal to sign Samu Omorodion fell through as they “disrespected” the striker.
Chelsea subsequently moved to re-sign Joao Felix and this enabled Gallagher to complete his move to Atletico Madrid.
Gallagher has backed himself as he’s hit back at claims he’s not good enough technically to cope with Maresca’s system.
“I don’t think that’s true, personally,” Gallagher said in an interview with The Telegraph.
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“I think last season I had a good season with Chelsea and you could see by Pochettino playing me every game and showing his trust in me. And the fans appreciated what I did on the pitch.
“I’m very grateful for all of that and very thankful to the fans, and very thankful to Pochettino for giving me that platform to go and express myself and show the best version of myself at Chelsea.”
Gallagher also claims his exit was “good for everyone” as he “only had good things to say” about Chelsea.
“Chelsea make their own decisions and they’ve brought in some top players on long contracts. That wasn’t the situation with me but, in the end, what happened is good for everyone, so everyone is happy,” he added.
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“Honestly, with Chelsea I have only got good things to say. Amazing football club, my boyhood club where I grew up through the academy,” Gallagher argues.
“I am so thankful and grateful for everything they did for me in the academy and the first team.
“As for the fans, last season especially they really warmed to me which made me feel confident and good and very happy as well so I leave Chelsea with really special memories…the dream came through. The dream came true. So, I am very lucky.”
Gallagher says his transfer saga “was strange” but he was “always confident that the deal would go through”.
“As everyone knows, there was a lot going on over the few weeks that it was all happening with Chelsea and Atlético trying to agree a deal. Other situations came into it,” Gallagher revealed.
“But I was always very calm about the situation and I’m really happy with the outcome.
“It was strange. But I was always confident that the deal would go through because of how the manager, Simeone, and the club spoke about me and to me. I felt very confident they were going to get the deal done.”
