Tottenham Hotspur’s Conor Gallagher returns to Atlético Madrid for a big Champions League clash later today.
Tuesday’s edition of Marca has a piece on the midfielder, who spent 18 months with the La Liga side.
Gallagher joined Atlético Madrid from Chelsea in August 2024 and returned to England when Tottenham signed him in January.
Ahead of Atlético’s clash against the Premier League, Marca looks at the 26-year-old’s spell in Spain, the positives and negatives.
Los Rojiblancos fans gave him the nickname, ‘El Pitbull’, and the newspaper have titled their report: ‘The Pitbull who never bit in red and white’.
Marca critical of Tottenham player
The England international played 77 matches for the Spanish capital club, scoring seven goals and contributing seven assists.
His performances didn’t please Marca, who state the former Chelsea man ‘showed more weaknesses than strengths. Plenty of stamina and commitment, yes, but a technical level that made it difficult for him to adapt to the system.’
Marca explain Gallagher failed to impress regularly in the middle of the pitch because he lacked the ‘quality to control the midfield’.
The newspaper say he adjusted well at a personal level at Atlético despite not speaking Spanish. He ‘gave his all’ to the Madrid club during his 18-month spell at them. Indeed, even the more reports on Gallagher during his time in Spain made it clear his attitude is exemplary.
Igor Tudor’s side reportedly paid €40m to sign the player on a permanent transfer and this allowed Atlético to recoup their investment. That Spurs agreed to the fee is seen as a surprise, and there’s praise given to Atlético’s sporting director.
Gallagher now returns to his former team with Tottenham, who have struggled a lot in the Premier League. However, Spurs have enjoyed a good run in the Champions League, losing only one of the eight group stage fixtures.
Time for Conor Gallagher to snap back
On Monday, Pedro Porro said injuries to key players have impacted Tottenham’s form in the league this season.
However, Conor Gallagher is fit and is likely to feature against his old club today. He now has an opportunity to hit back at the Spanish media for questioning his technical level.
He can do this by showcasing his qualities on the pitch and impressing for the north London club on Tuesday. If the Englishman were to guide Spurs to a victory, it’ll be interesting to see how the Spanish media will then react.
