CONOR GALLAGHER has been banned from Chelsea’s first team.
The 24-year-old England star was told in a meeting on Friday that he will not be allowed into the first-team building or train with Enzo Maresca’s team when he reports for duty on Monday.
Instead, he will train with a bomb squad that also includes local star Trevoh Chalobah.
Chelsea have been keen to sell Gallagher, who has less than a year left on his contract, throughout the summer.
They accepted £57m from Aston Villa in June, ahead of the profit and sustainability deadline, but Gallagher refused the move.
The Blues offered a new contract after accepting Villa’s offer, but only for two years, with the option of a further year.
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Chelsea are reportedly in talks with Napoli over the sale of Romelu Lukakau, while Victor Osimhen could go the other way on loan.
Conor Gallagher is set to join Atletico Madrid in a deal worth £34m.
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This was in stark contrast to the seven and eight year contracts they offered other members of the squad, and Gallagher rejected this.
Chelsea then accepted a £33m offer from Atletico Madrid last month, before offering the same new terms to Gallagher to renew – which he again turned down.
The Blues’ reasoning for the shorter terms on offer is that they no longer see a long-term future at the club for their academy graduate.
They are concerned about his ability to play in new manager Enzo Maresca’s possession-based style and are reluctant to offer a long-term deal because of this.
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Although Gallagher was the team’s captain for most of last season, he is now seen as just a team player should he remain at Stamford Bridge.
Therefore, Chelsea do not see it as a sensible decision to commit to a long-term deal that could harm both club and player.
Gallagher was not due to return to Chelsea’s Cobham training base until Monday next week after reaching the Euro final with England in July.
But he was invited to attend a meeting on Friday, during which he indicated he would be willing to sign a new long-term contract with his boyhood club.
Even so, he was told that he would be denied access to the first team from Monday.
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