Chelsea and Atletico Madrid aiming to 'break deadlock' with weekend talks
- Conor Gallagher back at Chelsea and in limbo as Atletico move hangs in balance
- Spanish giants need to raise cash in order to complete deal
- Joao Felix offered back to Chelsea after past loan spell but move is complicated
Chelsea and Atletico Madrid will meet this weekend to try and resolve the futures of Conor Gallagher and Joao Felix, a new report has revealed.
Gallagher was previously in the Spanish capital to talk personal terms with Atletico after a €42m (£36.1m) fee was agreed with Chelsea, and it looked as if the deal would be wrapped up with Samu Omorodion heading to Stamford Bridge in a separate move.
But that move unexpectedly broke down, and with Atletico completing a €95m (£82m) deal for Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez first, they are no longer in a position to fund the transfer without offloading another player.
Former Chelsea loanee Joao Felix suddenly emerged as a potential candidate to go the other way, with talks to take the Portugal international back to west London taking place.
But movement has been slow, to the extent that Chelsea requested Gallagher to return to London last week in order to resume training. The 24-year-old has done just that, away from the main group, and is not in contention to play against Manchester City on the opening day of the Premier League season.
The Telegraph report that Chelsea and Atletico will re-engage in talks over the weekend in the hope of thrashing out a deal, with the latter's manager, Diego Simeone, reassuring Gallagher that he remains desperate to sign him.
Felix is believed to be keen on returning to Chelsea, where he previously spent five months on loan between January 2023 and June 2023. The 24-year-old, who cost Atletico a staggering €126m (£113m) back in 2019, scored four goals in 16 appearances for the Blues but the deal was not made permanent.
Instead, Felix joined Barcelona on a season-long loan deal, but with Xavi dismissed as head coach and the Catalan giants' finances more precarious than ever, he's been forced to return to Atletico despite it being clear that he's not in Simeone's plans.
The report adds that Chelsea remain hopeful of signing Victor Osimhen from Napoli – a saga that has been dragging on for the best part of two years – with Romelu Lukaku potentially heading in the other direction.
Manager Enzo Maresca refused to be drawn on either Felix or Osimhen in his pre-Manchester City press conference, but did state his desire for new players to come in.
"They are not our players, so it would not be correct to speak about the Atletico player or the Napoli player," the Italian said. "The club knows exactly what I think in case we need to do something. At the end of the transfer window, we can bring some players."
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