Atletico Madrid have hope of resurrecting failed 2024 transfer | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid had a very busy summer transfer window in 2024, with several big-name signings having arrived at the Metropolitano. Conor Gallagher was one of those, although a deal with Chelsea proved to be very difficult to do.

Atleti had an agreement in place with Chelsea earlier in the summer, but after Samu Omorodion pulled the plug on a move in the opposition direction, the transfer collapsed. And although it was later resurrected, the club worked on other deals in the meantime, with the big one being for Javi Guerra.

Guerra has been a long-term target for Atleti, and when the Gallagher deal fell through, director of football Carlos Bucero was granted permission by CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin to negotiate with Valencia, as revealed by Relevo. These talks went smoothy, with an operation worth €25m having swiftly been agreed upon.

Conor Gallagher arrived at Atletico Madrid instead of Javi Guerra

A deal for Guerra was in its final stages when the Gallagher operation was brought back to life. Chelsea agreed to sign Joao Felix on a permanent basis, and this meant things could proceed as previously planned. In the end, they did after intervention from agent Jorge Mendes, meaning that the operation with Valencia was abandoned.

It was Andrea Berta that drove Atleti’s pursuit of Gallagher, and although the club sided with him over Bucero on that occasion, he has since departed his position as sporting director. Because of this, the report states that there are more chances for Los Colchoneros to re-ignite their interest in Guerra.

Bucero is still keen on the 21-year-old, who has been a standout performer for Valencia in recent weeks. Coupled with the fact that Los Che will be required to make another big-money sale in the summer in order to ease their well-documented financial woes, there are chances for Atletico Madrid to make another move.