Into the Calderon

Conor Gallagher has played his final game for Atlético de Madrid.

Gallagher is returning to England as a new player for Tottenham Hotspur, which agreed a €40 million deal with Atlético on Monday to bring the ex-Chelsea midfielder back to the Premier League.

Matteo Moretto reported earlier in the day that Aston Villa had taken the lead for Gallagher and were deep in negotiations with Atlético over a loan with an obligation to buy. But The Athletic’s David Ornstein was the first to report Spurs’ offer for a permanent transfer that beat Villa’s proposal, and so Gallagher is on his way to London instead of Birmingham.

Marca’s David Medina had also reported that Villa and Manchester United wanted Gallagher, who has scored three goals and provided one assist in 27 appearances this season.

Atlético were open to letting Gallagher leave this month, as he failed to carve out a starting spot since his arrival in the Great João Félix Swap Deal of 2024. And Gallagher, keen to return to the England national team, was angling to move back to the Premier League despite his contentment with life in Madrid.

While the midfielder’s €9 million salary can be onerous for a Spanish team, Spurs can easily pay it — and his signing has the additional benefit of aiding their “homegrown” quota, the rule by which eight players out of a 25-player squad must be trained in England.

Spurs sit a lowly 14th in the Premier League under first-year boss Thomas Frank, but only six points separate the North London club from fifth place and likely Champions League qualification for next season. Their interest in Gallagher was spurred (pun intended) by a hamstring injury to Rodrigo Bentancur, who is likely out for the next three months.

I had selling Gallagher (or loaning him out with the goal of selling him) marked as one of sporting director Mateu Alemany’s objectives for this month. Even in Atleti’s poorly-constructed midfield, Gallagher made only nine starts in all competitions; he is a good player, but he wasn’t the type of player this team needs. His departure is good news for all parties, and Atleti now might have the margin to sign a replacement who offers a better balance.

Gallagher is an attacking midfielder built for Premier League football, a box-crasher who thrives when he’s able to win the ball high or run into the penalty area. Here, Gallagher was exposed when playing in a double pivot, the role in which the board first envisioned him playing when he arrived two summers ago. He lacked the technical skill and the dynamic passing range necessary to help Atleti control games; this was evident once again in the Supercopa de España semifinal, when Diego Simeone chose Gallagher to step in for the injured Pablo Barrios and swiftly removed him at halftime of the eventual 2-1 loss to Real Madrid.

Gallagher’s 18-month Atlético career ends with five goals and three assists across 51 appearances (23 starts) in LaLiga. Across all competitions, Gallagher scored seven goals and assisted seven more over 77 games (37 starts) for Los Rojiblancos.

The beginning of the new financial year in LaLiga has allowed Atlético Madrid the financial margin to drop roughly €100 million on three new signings. Álex Baena and Matteo Ruggeri have already been announced as new Atlético players on five-year contracts, while Johnny Cardoso reportedly signed his own five-year deal on Wednesday before heading on vacation.

However, despite months of rumors, Tottenham and Argentina center-back Cristian Romero will not join this trio at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano next season.

That’s according to Picu Díaz at Diario AS, who reported Wednesday that Atlético, frustrated by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy’s refusal to negotiate for the star defender, are moving on to “other targets” to reinforce Diego Simeone’s defense.

Romero, under contract at Spurs until 2027, has long been earmarked as Atleti’s top transfer target this summer. The club began sounding out the World Cup winner over a possible move in November, and Simeone had been in regular contact with his compatriot to gauge his interest in joining the Rojiblancos — interest sufficient enough to convince the club to make an effort for his signature.

Months before he helped Spurs win the UEFA Europa League and thus achieve Champions League qualification, Romero organized an interview with Argentine journalist Gastón Edul, in which he revealed his dream of playing in LaLiga. For a while, it seemed as if this transfer was a matter of “when,” not “if.”

However, Díaz reports that Atlético have not lodged a formal offer for Romero — something Fabrizio Romano corroborated Wednesday — because Spurs warned them against doing so:

Romero was very keen on the possibility of signing for Atlético, Cuti wanted to come to Atlético, Cholo was delighted with the possible signing, and a few weeks ago, the club made a formal inquiry to Tottenham to understand whether there was a real chance for Romero to leave England.

Tottenham’s response was categorical: they were not going to sell Cuti Romero. They asked Atlético not to make a formal offer, because they were not going to enter into negotiations with Atlético, who were willing to spend a significant amount of money to sign the Argentine.

There you have it. Atlético are neither in a position to meet an asking price north of €80 million, nor can the club afford to negotiate with Levy all summer while other options — like Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapié, off the top of my head — remain in director of football Carlos Bucero’s sights.

Cuti Romero is among the best central defenders on the planet. Despite his unfortunate injury record, his combination of strength, aggression, and ball-playing ability is tailor-made for a Simeone defense. But Atlético have a lot of work to do, and a lot of signings still to make, not just in the defensive line.

Reinildo, César Azpilicueta, and Axel Witsel have all left the club following the expiration of their contracts, while Rodrigo Riquelme has joined Real Betis and club icon Ángel Correa joined Liga MX side Tigres on Wednesday. The work of reshaping the squad this summer is only half-done.