The Athletic FC⚽ This is The Athletic’s daily football/soccer newsletter. Sign up here to receive it directly in your inbox.
Hello!
A transfer is never done until it’s done. Even if you’re on the pitch.
Coming up:
- The baffling Conor Gallagher saga
- Cole Palmer’s nine-year contract
- The politics of squad numbers
- Double signing for Man Utd
The summer’s big transfer saga
AFP via Getty Images
The Athletic’s Adam Hurrey is the doyen of football terminology and a couple of years ago he boldly stated that transfer sagas were dead. “Something weird has happened,” Adam wrote. “Transfers are taking ages (instead).”
And along comes a deal which both proves and disproves that theory: Conor Gallagher’s sale to Atletico Madrid. Or his proposed sale to Atletico. Or his in-danger-of-being-aborted sale. TAFC has spent the best part of a fortnight waiting to publish confirmation of the transaction — but no cigar.
Advertisem*nt
The Gallagher switch is a bona fide saga. It’s also taking an inordinate amount of time. It’s six days since he flew to Spain for a medical (after the process of getting on the plane, which alone took forever). It’s four days since Atletico’s social accounts impulsively published a photo of him on their pitch (above). All this needs is Atletico to pull the lever — but they haven’t and, ridiculously, Gallagher returned home to London yesterday.
This is what we know for sure:
- A fee is agreed for the England international. Chelsea will receive £36million ($47m) if payment ever arrives.
- Gallagher has no future at Stamford Bridge. He’s declined the offer of a contract extension and Chelsea aren’t prepared to lose him for nothing when his deal expires next summer.
- The terms of a five-year deal with Atletico are already finalised, and Gallagher’s medical is done. In theory, it’s all systems go.
The Chelsea-Atletico dynamic
Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Image
Why the delay? It’s not 100 per cent clear, although money will be at the root of it. Atletico have been shaping up to spend a lot in this window, including more than £81million on Julian Alvarez from Manchester City. That transfer, at least, is finalised and signed off.
There’s a complex dynamic between Chelsea and Atletico at present. They’ve been dealing on numerous fronts. Beyond the Gallagher negotiations, Chelsea offered £34.5m for Atletico striker Samu Omorodion… only to then back out. That didn’t help Atletico, who are trying to offset purchases with incoming cash.
Since then, talk sparked up about Chelsea signing Joao Felix instead (he had a loan with them from Atletico in 2023). We’ll see if that gets anywhere, or if a successful negotiation is simply beyond these clubs.
No resolution in sight
To top it all, there’s Javi Guerra, the Valencia midfielder who Atletico bid for in tandem with their offer for Gallagher (almost a case of hedging their bets).
When the Guerra deal went cold last week, Valencia’s sporting director, Miguel Angel Corona, muddied the waters by claiming publicly Atletico had tried to kill the Gallagher deal to make Guerra happen — but couldn’t. The insinuation was that Atletico lacked the money to finance both.
It’s a mess, and it leaves Gallagher, a proven Premier League campaigner, in limbo.
He’s had the offer from Atletico. He’s seen his contract. He’s been in Madrid and he’s been on Atletico’s pitch. All of that and he still can’t say if he’s joining — or if, deep down, Atletico even want him.
News Round-Up
Here’s another Chelsea funny. Cole Palmer has extended his contract. It now runs to 2033. Don’t get me wrong, it facilitates a pay rise — and he totally deserves one — but a footballer on a nine-year deal is objectively amusing. And very, very Chelsea.
Manchester United have sealed the signings of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui (a timely replacement for a freshly injured Luke Shaw) from Bayern Munich. That’s two defenders for £51m ($66m), and two of Erik ten Hag’s old boys from Ajax. The Dutchman likes what he knows.
Advertisem*nt
Not the start The Special One wanted in Turkey. Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce are out of the Champions League already.
Players at clubs in Spain’s Basque region can be super loyal to them. Liverpool suspect it was that loyalty which convinced Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi to turn them down.
Even Premier League boss Richard Masters is getting tired of the delay in resolving the 115 financial charges against champions Manchester City. He says it’s “time now for the case to resolve itself.” We all agree on that.
Some breaking news from TA Towers: The Totally Football Show is back with its Premier League preview episode. Expect merriment, mirth and …*checks notes*… Fulham to be fifth by Christmas?
The bizarre world of shirt numbers
Leeds United are the breed of wild club who have a story for every occasion. WhenI read Stuart James on shirt numbers this morning, I thought immediately ofLeeds’ ex-owner Massimo Cellinobanning 17from the squad list at Elland Road— on the grounds of it being unlucky.
Cellino was that way outbut squad numbers, all of which have been allocated for the year ahead,can be extremely political.
Some carry special status. Others are sentimental, such as Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma picking 99 to match the year of his birth (though he’s pivoting to No 1 this season). A few,such as Ivan Zamorano asking for 1+8 at Inter Milan, are just brilliantly petty.
The power of brands can complicate matters too: Edinson Cavani was shunted out of No 7 to make way for a returning Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United, and women’s superstar Sam Kerr made absolutely sure she got 20 at Chelsea. Top names use these digits to market themselves,and they’re non-negotiable.
Personally, I admire John Moncur’s style. When Paulo Futre insisted on taking number 10 from Moncur at West Ham United in 1996, Moncur said yes —but only after Futre agreed to let him use his villa in Spain. Well played.
- Staying on theme, most clicked in yesterday’s TAFC?Our Premier League kit rankings.
Inside the mind of Kieran McKenna
The best way for a Championship coach to earn a job in the Premier League is to get promoted with their existing club.Top-flight teams don’t often recruit managers from the EFL. Something about the step up presents too much of a risk.
Kieran McKenna is an exception. Even if Ipswich Town had fallen short of promotion last season, his performance there — second in League One in 2023, immediately in contention in the Championship — shows major promise. Ipswich didn’t fall short. They smashed their way into the Premier League with 96 points.
There are traits about them which you’ll spot as you watch them.They love a cutbackand they try to cash in on the sweet left foot of full-back Leif Davis, (below). He’s a neat budget Fantasy Premier League option. It’ll be a stretch to avoid relegation but their stability gives them a chance.
Brighton had a close look at McKenna earlier in the summer.Chelsea considered him too.
He’s one to watch because Ipswich was his first senior job after a stint in Manchester United’s academy, and the spectacular success of it —along with Michael Walker’s look inside his mind—tempts you to think that bigger things await.
Injuries, fatigue… and Mbappe’s big debut?
Stand by forKylian Mbappe’s Real Madrid debuttoday. Possibly. It’s the Super Cup, where Champions League holders Madrid playEuropa League holders Atalanta. Carlo Ancelotti is free to unleash the beast.
We’ll take a quick look at La Liga’s big two because Spain’s domestic season starts tomorrow and between Real and Barcelona,there’s plenty going on:
- Dani Carvajal’s take on the Super Cup wasto moan about fixture congestion. I hear him. The winners of one cup playing the winners of a second cup to win a third cupis modern football in a nutshell.
- Real’s Eduardo Camavinga (above) is out of the match.He injured a knee in training yesterday and looked to be in a lot of pain. Not good.
- Ancelotti’s still got a better hand to play than Hansi Flick. Barca’s new boss might have signed Dani Olmo but, at the moment,the club’s financial issues are preventing them from registering the midfielder to play in La Liga. They kick off against Valencia on Saturday andthere’s zero guarantee of Olmo featuring.
- As for tonight,this is a great little interviewwithAtalanta’s Ademola Lookman— a south London boy doing it “for the streets”.
Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_
