Chelsea reach an agreement in principle to sell Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid
Chelsea have reached an agreement in principle to sell Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid for £33m plus add-ons, talkSPORT understands.
The Blues had originally quoted £50m for Gallagher, who is yet to discuss personal terms with the Spanish side.
Tottenham We are still closely monitoring the situation as we have been interested in the England international since last year.
Gallagher has been in the Chelsea squad since he was eight years old and after four loan spells, he broke into the first team two years ago.
He was then named de facto captain of the club, with first and second options. Reece James and Ben Chilwell was virtually absent for the entire season last year.
Gallagher has long been linked with an exit from Chelsea in the past 12 months, despite missing just one Premier League game last season.
Tottenham, Aston Villa and West Ham had all shown initial interest but were unwilling to pay Chelsea's £50m valuation.
However, with the midfielder entering the final year of his contract this year, the Blues have had to work extra hard to find a suitor.
Atletico Madrid He showed interest earlier this summer but failed to meet Chelsea's asking price.
But a breakthrough came this week when the west London side slashed their valuation, accepting Atletico's offer of £33m, plus add-ons that could reach £37.9m.
That is £17m less than Chelsea had initially hoped for (just over a third of the asking price), although the total price could rise if add-ons are met.
Gallagher could also turn down the chance to move to Atletico as he has yet to discuss personal terms, but the Spanish club can offer him Champions League football and the chance to be coached by Diego Simeone.
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However, the full amount will be counted as pure profit on the books of Stamford Bridge, where other players could leave in similar circumstances.
Academy graduate Trevoh Chalobah was They told me to stay home as the team headed to the United States on a pre-season tour in an attempt to force the defender out.
Another Cobham product, Lewis Hall, was sold to Newcastle over the summer after certain clauses of an initial loan deal were met.
And Ian Maatsen, another player who came through Chelsea's youth system, was allowed to join Aston Villa on a permanent deal just weeks after leading Borussia Dortmund To the Champions League final.
However, the decision to sell Gallagher will be a blow to Chelsea fans, where he was a fan favourite, while club legend Joe Cole He explicitly told the club Don't let it go.
