Chelsea Gallagher sale collapse could prompt near ‘worst-case scenario’ as Aston Villa, Tottenham lurk
Insider Dharmesh Sheth believes Aston Villa and Tottenham will be keeping an eye on the situation of Conor Gallagher, in what would be the “second-worst case scenario” for Chelsea and a move they “didn’t want”.
Gallagher has looked for a while as if he’s likely to leave Stamford Bridge, despite his best season for the club, in which he scored seven goals and assisted another nine in all competitions.
Tottenham have long been interested, but the Blues have not wanted to play ball on a deal with their London rivals. Instead, after failing to agree a contract extension with Gallagher, having reportedly offered him a two-year extension, a move to Atletico Madrid was in the offing.
While he has agreed to join the club, an agreement between the two sides has yet to be found, partially because the Spanish outfit have not yet been able to ship out Joao Felix. As such, Gallagher has returned to England, and some Premier League rivals could now jump in.
According to insider Sheth, Tottenham and Villa, who were both previously interested in the signing before it became clear Chelsea wanted Gallagher to go to Atletico instead, will take interest in the transfer collapse.
“I’m sure they will be keeping an eye on this situation, and that would be the second-worst case scenario for Chelsea.
“The way that they orchestrated this deal was that they offered him a two-year contract, which effectively is telling him that we want to sell you.
“And then, not only that, but they effectively chose the club that he was going to, which was Atletico Madrid – a club outside of the Premier League.
“They didn’t want him to go to a Premier League rival. Now that he is not going there, are Chelsea going to have to entertain potential deals from clubs in the Premier League?”
MORE ON CHELSEA FROM F365
👉 The ten fastest Premier League manager dismissals as Ten Hag leads current sack race
👉 Why the Chelsea negativity? They are set up perfectly to dominate as soon as Guardiola leaves
👉 Man Utd, Chelsea to ‘test’ Premier League rivals with ‘loan offers’ for £60m England striker
If the Atletico transfer does not go through, with only a year left on Gallagher’s deal, the Blues would surely have to consider allowing him to go to a Premier League rival, and he’d no doubt do well with either.
From Gallagher’s point of view, not accepting a two-year extension makes sense. As an academy graduate who has captained the first team on multiple occasions, he’d feel deserving of a longer deal to reflect his standing at the club, but Chelsea seemingly don’t see the importance that he holds.
READ MORE: Victor Osimhen can’t fix Chelsea like Romelu Lukaku could have done
