Alejandro Garnacho's 'sense of entitlement' during Chelsea's win over Nottingham Forest has been blasted by Troy Deeney.
The Argentine was making only his second Premier League start for the Blues since joining from Manchester United for £40million.
Alejandro Garnacho stats vs Nottingham Forest
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Garnacho was jeered by the Forest fans for fluffing his lines on more than one occasionCredit: Getty
The 21-year-old, who is yet to score in his first five appearances under Enzo Maresca, had a golden opportunity to impress for the visitors.
Chelsea were without Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, and, crucially, talisman Cole Palmer, for the 3-0 win at the City Ground.
Garnacho, having started the 2-1 win over Liverpool before the international break, was afforded another chance in Maresca's XI.
However, the winger was virtually anonymous for Chelsea in a poor first half, and talkSPORT commentator Deeney was far from impressed.
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Following a poor cross, Deeney told GameDay: “Really disappointed in Garnacho today. Not sold on him anyway, as you know.”
Minutes later, the Argentina international drew an ironic cheer from Forest fans after failing to bring the ball under control in the corner.
“I'm not an expert on body language, but his entitlement winds me up no end,” Deeney added. “The fact that he hasn't sprinted yet once, and we are 33 minutes into a game...
“He's not running with any intensity. He's not saying, 'Do you know what? I'm in a fortunate position that I've left Man United at a poor moment and come to a Chelsea team that are flying.'
“He's been given a start - his second of the season, and he's not giving you anything. He's not running around.
“Every time the ball comes out to him, he's like, unless it's perfect, he's not gonna run - the sense of entitlement in the young man is frightening.”
Garnacho's performance against Nottingham Forest was blasted by Troy Deeney
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While Garnacho awaits his first Chelsea goal, he did grab an assist for Richard Ríos' own-goal in the Champions League victory over Benfica.
Yet at half-time against Forest, he had just 18 touches, only one of which was in the opposition box and created zero chances.
Garnacho boasted an expected assist rate of 0.01, with only one successful dribble and zero shots.
Deeney continued: “He's got ability, there's no doubt about that. The boy is very talented but in games, you have to do the basics well first.
“It's just coming out to him now, but look [after Garnacho loses his one and only aerial duel], no desire, doesn't even go for the header.
“He's expecting that the ball should be played to him, and then once he gets involved, then he'll run around.”
Alejandro Garnacho vs Nottingham Forest
Minutes: 45
Shots: 0
Touches: 18
Touches in opposition box: 1
Passes into final third: 1
Accurate crosses: 0
Successful dribbles: 1
Accurate passes: 7/8
Chances created: 0
Expected assists (xA) 0.01
Tackles: 1
Ground duels won: 4/5
Aerial duels won: 0/1
Fouls committed: 1
“He runs at like half pace, half mass, I don't know.
“My concern with his Chelsea team is always that they're young, but who's the one driving it? Who's that older player now that's going, 'Right, let's get after it.'
“[Garnacho's] just walking around. If I was Jeremy Gittins or Tyrique George I'd be running up and down, warming up, and letting the manager know that I'm ready to go because this is really, really poor.”
Maresca agreed with Deeney's verdict as Garnacho was duly hooked at half-time, with Jamie Gittens one of three subs sent on at the break.
The former Borussia Dortmund star joined Moises Caicedo and Marc Guiu in coming on, with the changes proving instantaneous.
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Garnacho's opposite number on the Chelsea wing, Pedro Neto, turned provider for the visitors' opening goal minutes after the restart.
The Portuguese star's cross was turned home by Josh Acheampong, with Neto himself adding a second almost instantly after before Reece James added a third late on.