Diego Simeone has reportedly provided Chelsea's Conor Gallagher with assurance that he is desperate for the midfielder to complete his move to Atletico Madrid this summer.
The England international opted to pursue the move after being made aware that he would be a squad player as opposed to a regular starter under new boss Enzo Maresca.
Gallagher's potential switch to Madrid has become one of this summer's major transfer sagas and the situation took a fresh turn on Tuesday when he returned to London.
The 24-year-old had spent the past five days in the Spanish capital, aiming to finalise his transfer to Simeone's team ahead of the upcoming La Liga season.
However, despite it looking as though Gallagher's departure from Stamford Bridge was on the verge of completion, complications over Samu Omorodion's move to the Blues have now left the situation hanging in the balance.
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Gallagher provided with reassurances over transfer by Atletico boss
According to The Telegraph, Simeone contacted Gallagher right before his return to the UK, assuring the England international that he still wants him at Estadio Metropolitano for the upcoming season.
The report adds that the Atletico boss wanted to ensure that the 24-year-old returned to England without any doubt about his desire to bring him to Madrid while making clear how highly he is valued.
It is understood that Simeone is now pushing Los Colchoneros to finalise the signing of Gallagher by finding a new buyer for Omorodion and stepping up efforts to sell Joao Felix, who has already been offered to Chelsea to raise funds.
The need for Atletico to sell before completing a move for Gallagher is believed to have stemmed partially from the club splashing out just over £81m to sign Julian Alvarez from Manchester City earlier this month.
Gallagher has already agreed on personal terms and passed his medical with the La Liga giants, but has now returned to Cobham where he will resume training with the Under-21s and players like Romelu Lukaku and Trevoh Chalobah, who are also expected to be sold this summer.
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Chelsea on another spending spree this summer
Chelsea are no strangers to splashing out cash during transfer season, having already spent over £1bn since Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Capital group took charge in May 2022.
This summer has been no different, with the Blues already forking out over £185m to bring in as many as 10 new faces over the last two months.
The most recent acquisition was that of Pedro Neto from Wolverhampton Wanderers for £54m earlier this week.
Neto follows the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Estevao Willian and Filip Jorgensen, who cost the Blues a combined total of just under £80m, to arrive at Stamford Bridge in the last month.
In an attempt to balance the books, Maresca's side are believed to be actively looking to offload Lukaku, Chalobah and Armando Broja this summer, while they are also willing to listen to offers for David Datro Fofana and Raheem Sterling.
Devesh Jaganath
