Atletico tried to cancel Gallagher move says Valencia chief Corona

Atletico Madrid reportedly tried to cancel the transfer of Conor Gallagher, so says Valencia’s sporting director Miguel Angel Corona.

Gallagher is expected to complete his move from Chelsea imminently, ending his 16-year stay at Stamford Bridge in a deal reportedly worth €42m.

However, Corona said that Atletico’s pursuit of the England international was almost halted in an attempt to sign Valencia midfielder Javi Guerra.

A deal had been agreed between the two La Liga clubs for the Spaniard, but the reported €25m deal fell through, allowing Gallagher’s move to continue.

“There is a maximum agreement (between clubs) on Sunday, plus it was between the president of Valencia and the maximum shareholder of Atletico Madrid,” Corona said.

“On Monday, the documentation is developed and, in the same way, it goes in parallel with the player, who is advancing in this negotiation and almost closes the agreement.

“On Wednesday, due to the delay in the return of Atletico’s documents and some comments made, a specific question was asked to Atletico’s owner, about the situation.

“Why the delay, and the answer was that they were trying to get out of the Chelsea operation and that, if they don’t succeed, they can’t face the Javi Guerra operation.

Conor Gallagher travelled to Spain last night to complete his move to Atletico Madrid pic.twitter.com/b3hugFNmMR

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“It was the first news that we and Javi had about it, that the operations were linked, and therefore we (Valencia) got out of it because it was not a condition that was discussed on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, when there were constant WhatsApps, emails, calls, comments on clause.

“We were not informed of anything regarding the link between the two and we got out of it to protect ourselves.”

Gallagher rejected three offers of a new deal with Chelsea, with the club choosing to sell the 24-year-old this transfer window to avoid losing him on a free.

The England international is expected to put pen to paper on a five-year contract with the 11-time La Liga champions, after captaining Chelsea to European football last year.

Gallagher made 50 appearances in all competitions under Mauricio Pochettino, scoring seven goals, and adding nine assists.

Last season, the 24-year-old was arguably Chelsea’s best performing midfielder, creating the most chances (53), winning more tackles (52) and boasting the highest pass accuracy (91.5%) when compared to Moises Caicedo and Ezno Fernandez.