Conor Gallagher has pledged to bring “special moments” to Tottenham after completing a £34.6m transfer from Atlético Madrid. The London club moved quickly for a midfielder they have long admired after losing Rodrigo Bentancur to a hamstring injury at Bournemouth last Wednesday, beating off competition from Aston Villa. Bentancur has since undergone surgery.

Spurs looked at Gallagher at the end of the 2023-24 season only for him to go from Chelsea to Atlético for £34m. Before the Premier League game between Chelsea and Spurs in May 2024 at Stamford Bridge, the home support unfurled a giant banner of Gallagher. “Chelsea since birth,” read the caption about their academy product. The subtext was clear: do not sell him to Spurs.

The climate is different now, with Gallagher determined to sign for Spurs on a contract until 2031 and play in the Premier League again after a frustrating first half of the season at Atlético, when he started only four times in La Liga.

The 25-year-old is also keen to reignite his England hopes before this summer’s World Cup. Capped 22 times and a member of the squad at the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024, he last played for Thomas Tuchel’s team in the friendly defeat by Senegal last June. Gallagher is in contention to make his Spurs debut in the crunch home game against West Ham on Saturday.

“I’m so happy and excited to be here, taking the next step in my career at an amazing club,” Gallagher said. “I wanted to be a Spurs player and thankfully the club felt the same. It was very easy. It happened very quickly and I’m ready to get on the pitch. 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.”

Thomas Frank, the Spurs manager, said: “Conor is a top midfielder, who we have worked tirelessly to add to our squad. He is still young so has plenty of room for improvement but also has huge experience across the Premier League, La Liga and with the England national team.

“Conor has captained teams so will bring leadership, maturity, character and personality to our dressing room, while his running power, pressing ability and eye for goal will strengthen us in a key area of the pitch.”