Enzo Maresca has confirmed this Conor Gallagher is training away from the Chelsea first team with his proposed transfer to Atletico Madrid hangs in the balance.
Gallagher, who led the Blues for much of last season in the absence of Reece James, has entered the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge.
Last week he appeared to be on the verge of completing his £34.5million move to Atlético Madrid, staying in a Madrid hotel as he awaited final confirmation of his move.
But Chelsea's transfer failure for Atletico striker Samu Omorodion have halted Gallagher's transfer, with the England international set to return to the UK this week.
His proposed move now could depend on whether Chelsea could close deal with Atletico for Joao Felixwho previously spent six months on loan at Stamford Bridge during the 2022-23 season.
Reports this week claimed Gallagher is expected to resume training with the club's Under-21 team alongside fellow outsiders Trevoh Chalobah and Romelu Lukaku.
Ahead of Chelsea's Premier League opener against champions Manchester City, Maresca confirmed that Gallagher will not be considered for selection and he is hoping for a 'happy' outcome to the transfer saga for all involved.
“Conor is back and training a little bit separately. He's doing some medical tests and some training and he won't be in this match,” Maresca said.
'Also because he is trying to find a solution with the club at the moment, so we will see what happens.
'I've said it several times since we started, unfortunately these kinds of things happen every summer… all clubs have problems because players want to leave, clubs want players to leave.
“But in the end they're all happy, so hopefully everyone's happy for Conor.”
Chelsea currently have 43 players in their first-team squad, having signed 10 new signings this summer. Ahead of what could be a hectic end to the summer transfer window, Maresca reiterated that he is not the man responsible for player departures, and that his focus is solely on the training ground.
“We were in America for 20 days with 28 to 29 players, so it was good to manage the selection,” said Maresca.
'Now there are guys who are not involved in the selection, who train separately. At the moment it is not difficult, also because if I start thinking that I have 43 players, that is probably not good.
“I just finished a session and I'm already thinking about tomorrow's session. It's the one thing I'd like to check.”
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