Madrid (Spain), Aug 20 : The deal that will see Conor Gallagher finally complete his move from Chelsea to Atletico Madrid with Joao Felix going the other way looks to be on the verge of completion. Gallagher's transfer to Atletico seemed a done deal a week ago as he was pictured training with the club in the Metropolitano Stadium, only for it to collapse after the two clubs were unable to reach agreement over the transfer of striker Samu Omorodion to Chelsea.

The England international flew back to London but was not included in the Chelsea squad that lost 2-0 at home to Manchester City on Sunday. The 24-year-old Conor Gallagher has so far only played in England, plying his trade for Chelsea (72 games) after being picked in 2019 and doing load stints at Charlton Athletic from 2019-20 season, Swansea City (19 games), West Bromwich Albion (30) and Crystal Palace playing 34 games.

The transfer now appears to be back on track with the news that Atletico and Chelsea have reached an agreement to see Joao Felix to the English club for around 45 million euros, which will allow Atletico to sign Gallagher, reports Xinhua.

Joao Felix, who had a six-month loan at Chelsea two seasons ago, is set to sign a six-year contract until the end of June 2030, to end speculation about his future.

He travelled with Atletico for their opening La Liga game away to Villarreal on Monday night but took no part in the game that ended 2-2, with Marcos Llorente and Alexander Sorloth netting Atletico's goals. The Portuguese international has had a difficult relationship with Atletico coach Diego Simeone and spent last season on loan at FC Barcelona, scoring the winning goal in the first La Liga meeting between the clubs in December 2023.

/IANS