Matteo Moretto Transfer Column: Alvaro Morata, Conor Gallagher and Oscar Mingueza | OneFootball

Matteo Moretto gives Football España exclusive information on the latest deals dominating the papers in Spain, as revealed in Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing.

AC Milan forward was on the verge of Saudi Arabia switch

After missing out on Joshua Zirkzee earlier in the summer, and with Olivier Giroud exiting for Los Angeles, AC Milan were in need of a forward who could lead the line this summer, and went out and got Alvaro Morata. That very much looked like an impossible deal at one point though.

Morata very much was on his way to Saudi Arabia. He was on the brink of moving to Al-Qadsiah, where Nacho Fernandez and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang now play, and Morata had almost agreed to go. The two clubs on verge of sending the documents over to be reviewed and signed, but at the last moment, Morata backed out of the move.

Atletico Madrid Sporting Director insisted on Conor Gallagher signing

Conor Gallagher is undoubtedly one of the signings that has caused the most impact in La Liga. He provides lungs in midfield for Atletico Madrid, a footballer who makes a difference due to the quantity and quality of his plays. It is true that Atletico had a shortlist of midfielders in the summer, but Conor Gallagher has always been one of the favorites of both Cholo Simeone and Andrea Berta.

The sporting director insisted a lot on having him at Atletico, and never gave up, even when Gallagher was deliberating over the move and stalling talks. Gallagher was considered the perfect purchase for the midfield to give it a jump in quality, and complete their options in the position. He was never close to joining an English team, despite rumours linking him to Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur. Atleti was the club that pushed the most, knowing that Chelsea would not want him to continue at another Premier League team.

Celta Vigo will hang onto defender linked to Barcelona in January if they can

Celta Vigo do not want to be robbed of Oscar Mingueza this season, and will do everything possible to ensure that he does not move from Galicia in January. However, the player is doing very well and there are already several clubs interested in him, some willing to pay the €20m of his release clause.

There has been a lot of noise and talk about Mingueza since he was called up to the Spanish national team by Luis de la Fuente, which is not unusual, but it is a major contrast to even a month or two ago. One important thing to note is that Barcelona could sign him for €10m, as they have a 50% sell-on clause, but they wanted to spend less. Mingueza was also wanted by Roma in the summer, but they never made a concrete written offer for him.