Conor Gallagher's situation is becoming increasingly bleak. With Chelsea uncompromising over the price of the English midfielder - they are demanding 15 million more after breaking the Samu Omorodion option - Atlético are looking for new options in the market. Meanwhile, Jorge Mendes is in London to discuss the conditions of João Félix's transfer to the 'blue' team , according to Fabrizio Romano.
The alternative is in Saudi Arabia
Back in early August, our colleague @MercadoATM on 'X' hinted that Atlético de Madrid were not ruling out a world champion midfielder who was playing in an exotic league. It is true that age is a handicap, but after seeing N'Golo Kanté's level at the Euro Cup , anyone would say that he is playing in the Saudi Pro League.
The World Champion with France - alongside Antoine Griezmann and Thomas Lemar - is becoming more and more of a viable option, as Conor Gallagher moves away... Or maybe not? As we have been able to find out from Relevo's journalist, Marcos Durán, the red and white board is going to ask about the situation of N'Golo Kanté .
It seems that the Conor Gallagher deal is closer than ever to collapse and Atlético de Madrid need to consider other options. In addition, it is known that the footballer himself wants to leave Saudi Arabia. Regarding his footballing level, it could be seen that he continues to maintain it after the good Euro Cup he played in, in which he won two 'Man Of The Match' awards.
What's the problem? The player has a contract until 2026 and earns €24.5 million net per season, according to Capology. An amount that Atlético de Madrid cannot even come close to. The positive thing is that he would be a cheap option - market value of €9 million according to Transfermakt - and would provide immediate returns.
The risk that Atlético de Madrid took
For several days, Atlético Madrid waited patiently for the decision of the English midfielder. Meanwhile, the red-and-whites closed an agreement with Valencia in less than 24 hours for the transfer of Javi Guerra. With the operation of the 'che' midfielder on standby, Atlético received the 'yes, I do' from Conor Gallagher, which meant that the signing of Javi Guerra could not be undertaken.
Gil Marín apologized to Peter Lim, with whom he has a good relationship, and got down to work to close the signing of Conor Gallagher. Everything was prepared, the footballer had even trained with the team, but what happened is what we explain in the following article .
However, the move may not turn out so badly for Atlético de Madrid. According to Marcos Durán himself: " I do not rule out the possibility of doing both operations." "Getting N'Golo Kanté out would be a minor expense (...) the player would have to reduce his salary."
If Atlético manage to unblock the Conor Gallagher deal, they could also close the N'Golo Kanté deal, although the left-back would be the next priority on the list. In this way, they could 'kill two birds with one stone' from a problematic situation. Now the problem remains in the negotiations with Chelsea.
Market paradoxes. João Félix may be the player who unblocks this whole mess thanks to two good pre-season games. Surreal.