Conor Gallagher Risks Enraging Chelsea Fans With First Interview As a Tottenham Player

The midfielder left Stamford Bridge in 2024 after 18 years with his boyhood club.

Conor Gallagher has signed with Tottenham. | James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

Conor Gallagher is now officially a Tottenham Hotspur player, completing a £34.7 million ($46.6 million) switch from Atlético Madrid to mark his return to England after 18 months in Spain.

Gallagher has signed a “long-term” contract with Spurs and will wear the number 22 shirt. The England international has the potential to revolutionise his new club’s season, a player every bit the midfield workhorse and of proven Premier League quality.

But the transfer is potentially a bitter pill for Chelsea fans, especially after Gallagher’s first interview since his unveiling on Wednesday afternoon.

“I'm so excited to show the fans what I can do on the pitch and hopefully give them some special moments and memories.”

Conor's first words as a Spurs player 🤍 pic.twitter.com/Z3RlkezXzv

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 14, 2026

“I wanted to be a Spurs player,” the midfielder said. “It was very easy.

“I know how great the fans are. I’m really happy to be a part of it here and want to create special moments and memories together.”

They are exactly the kind of quotes typically associated with any new signing announcement. But the fierce Chelsea-Tottenham rivalry adds an extra layer and additional spice to his comments.

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Gallagher a Chelsea Player for 18 Years

Gallagher spent most of his life at Chelsea. | David Horton/CameraSport/Getty Images

Gallagher was scouted by Chelsea at the age of six. He rose through the academy ranks and, after progressively more impressive loans at Charlton Athletic, Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace, established himself as a first-team regular.

In 2023–24, Gallagher made 50 appearances for Chelsea and regularly wore the captain’s armband due to Reece James often being confined to the treatment room. But amid claims that he was unlikely to feature as regularly under Enzo Maresca—Gallagher himself denied it had any to do with perceived technical shortcomings—Chelsea cashed in for £34 million.

Maresca later hit out at Profitability & Sustainability Rules (PSR) he said were driving Chelsea to sell home-grown players because of the accounting upside to such deals.

Either way, Gallagher wasn’t starting regularly for Atlético in the first half of this season and the Madrid side were keen to recoup their money. Chelsea weren’t in for him, but Manchester United were speculatively linked and Aston Villa looked as though they were moving towards sealing a transfer. Joining either would have been far more palatable from a Chelsea perspective.

Instead, Tottenham hijacked Villa’s deal at the last moment and Gallagher is “excited” to be with them.

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Why Are Chelsea, Tottenham Rivals?

A 2016 encounter has become infamous. | Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

The most famous derby in the capital is north London, the heated local rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham. Chelsea’s most local derby is Fulham, but their fiercest rivals are Spurs.

It is considered to have been sparked by the 1967 FA Cup final, the first such final contested by two London teams and won by Tottenham. It developed through the 1970s and 1980s when hooliganism and violence between rival sets of supporters was a sad undercurrent throughout English football.

Chelsea’s return to prominence in the mid-1990s, spearheaded by Tottenham icon Glenn Hoddle, led the Blues to dominate the rivalry on the pitch. In 2007, 10 fans suffered knife injuries as a result of a clash that followed an FA Cup quarter-final, while 2013 saw Chelsea snatch Willian away from Spurs, even after the Brazilian winger had already completed a medical. There were even allegations that former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich refused to do any direct business with Tottenham.

When Tottenham signed academy player Jude Soonsup-Bell in 2023, he was the first player to move directly between the clubs since backup goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini 14 years earlier.

Within the last decade, another famous example of the rivalry was dubbed ‘The Battle of the Bridge,’ when a Chelsea comeback in May 2016 resulted in a 2–2 draw that ended Tottenham’s title challenge and handed the trophy to Leicester City instead. In a bad-tempered contest, there were 12 yellow cards—including nine for Spurs, which remains a Premier League record for one team in a single match. Mousa Dembélé was even slapped with a six-game ban for violent conduct.

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