Chelsea ‘offer’ England star who ‘won’t play again’ at Euro 2024 in ‘incredible’ swap for Barcelona Star Boy

Reports suggest that Chelsea has submitted a player-plus-cash offer for Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, which includes England midfielder Conor Gallagher.

Since Todd Boehly and his consortium took over Chelsea in May 2022, the club has invested over £1 billion. Despite this significant expenditure, the expected on-field success has not yet materialized for Chelsea fans.

This summer, Chelsea has been active in the transfer market, securing the signings of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Marc Guiu, Omari Kellyman, and Tosin Adarabioyo. Yet, their transfer activities appear far from concluded. At the end of last season, Chelsea appointed Enzo Maresca as their new manager following Mauricio Pochettino’s departure by mutual consent.

Several players, including Thiago Silva, Hakim Ziyech, Ian Maatsen, Lewis Hall, and Omari Hutchinson, have left Chelsea this summer. Additionally, there have been ongoing speculations that Gallagher might be sold to help the club comply with profit and sustainability regulations.

Rumors from Spain indicate that Chelsea has “increased its offer” for Barcelona’s center-back Araujo, proposing what is described as a “fantastic” deal for the Uruguayan international. Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, and their sporting director, Deco, are reportedly open to selling the defender for the right price. Chelsea remains persistent in their pursuit of Araujo.

Boehly aims to negotiate with Barcelona to significantly lower the cost and has proposed including a notable player in the deal, potentially appealing to Barcelona coach Hans-Dieter Flick, while being dispensable for Maresca. Barcelona has indicated they would demand between €90 million and €100 million for Araujo.

Gallagher is the player Boehly is willing to trade, who has recently joined Leicester City. Gallagher, now looking for a new challenge, has found himself out of favor at Chelsea. Chelsea has offered €45 million plus Gallagher’s permanent move to convince Barcelona to release Araujo.

Gallagher’s international career has seen him substitute in the first two group matches of England’s Euro 2024 campaign. He started in the match against Slovenia but was substituted at halftime during their 0-0 draw. He later played the final 14 minutes of extra time in England’s semifinal victory over Slovakia.

Former Germany international Didi Hamann has voiced skepticism about Gallagher’s future participation in the tournament. Hamann commented to RTE that Gallagher is not England’s problem and criticized the management’s handling of the situation, suggesting that targeting weaker players reflects poorly on the manager. Consequently, Gallagher might not feature for the remainder of the competition.