In the summer, Chelsea received the best part of £300m in player sales and pretty much covered the costs of their spending. Where their rivals struggle, Chelsea are good at raking in a fee.
The likes of Noni Madueke, Christopher Nkunku, and plenty of others were sold by Enzo Maresca and Chelsea’s board in the previous window. It allowed Chelsea to sign Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, and more.
This is nothing new. Chelsea’s model works – buy young on big contracts, which forces interested clubs to spend down the line. Around £200m was received by Chelsea in player sales during the 2024-25 season.
Chelsea have spent more than £1bn on transfers since their takeover in 2022 but are miles away from challenging for the Premier League title. Who needs to be held to account and why? 💰
I BLAME _ _ _ _ _ for Chelsea’s failure to compete for the Premier League title!
Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley
Behdad Eghbali
Todd Boehly
Joe Shields
The players
The managers
EVERYONE
Behdad Eghbali (R) co-owner of Chelsea with co-sporting directors, Paul Winstanley (L)) and Laurence Stewart (C)
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
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A £36m chunk of that was the sale of England midfielder Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid, where the Blues academy product has since sparkled. He’s clocked up 77 outings in 18 months for Diego Simeone.
Tottenham set to sign Conor Gallagher ahead of Aston Villa
But Gallagher, who has had a hand in 14 goals during his 77 Atleti outings, is now set for a surprise return to the Premier League. The midfielder is closing in on a move to rivals Tottenham, ahead of Aston Villa.
Atletico de Madrid v Bayer 04 Leverkusen - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD7
Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Fabrizio Romano did say Aston Villa were close to doing a deal to land the midfielder, who left Chelsea just five games shy of a century. He said: “Aston Villa are on the verge of an agreement for Gallagher.”
But David Ornstein then revealed Tottenham had got their man, trumping Villa in talks with a £34.7m bid to land the England star. A whole £3.3m less than the fee Chelsea received when they sold him to Atleti.
Chelsea may have been good at raking in transfer fees over the years, and the cash received for Gallagher was decent. But Tottenham are set to pay a whole lot less than they were willing to pay Chelsea in 2023.
If Gallagher does join Tottenham, when will he face Chelsea?
Back in the summer of 2023, Sky Sports said that Chelsea were willing to sell Gallagher for a fee of £50m and both Tottenham and Newcastle were interested in raiding the Blues to land the midfielder’s signature.
Should Chelsea have tried to rival Tottenham for Conor Gallagher? Have your say! 🤑
Spurs are set to sign the midfielder
Conor Gallagher in action for Atleti
Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images
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But instead, he waited for a season and moved to Spain. Less than three years after Tottenham’s initial interest, Spurs look set to get their man and bolster the squad of under-pressure boss Thomas Frank.
Tottenham and Chelsea do not meet until the end of the season, on May 17 at Stamford Bridge. It will be Gallagher’s first game against Chelsea since his move to Diego Simeone’s side back in August 2024.
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