Garnacho's long-term future at Aston Villa remains promising despite his slow start this season.
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There is an expectation that on-loan Chelsea winger Alejandro Garnacho will end up signing for Aston Villa permanently despite his slow start this season.
The 22-year-old joined Aston Villa on a season-long loan in a deal that includes a conditional obligation to sign him permanently.
The terms to trigger the obligation clause are understood to be based on appearances, and Chelsea could recoup up to £42.5 million, including the loan fee, if all requirements are met.
The situation is not so promising, with Garnacho having played just 31 minutes across three Premier League appearances under Unai Emery, but his strong performances during the international break indicate an improvement.
Garnacho did not make the latest Argentina squad, but he scored in both of Aston Villa’s friendlies over the break: a 1-0 behind-closed-doors win over Southampton and a 3-1 win over Sevilla.
There is an understandable fear that Garnacho’s case may be a repeat of Harvey Elliott’s loan situation at Villa last year, but The Athletic states it is unlikely to be the case.
Confidence in Garnacho's long-term future at Villa
Firstly, Garnacho’s appearance threshold to trigger the obligation clause is said to be easier to achieve than the 10 Premier League appearances it would take to activate Elliot’s £35m obligation to buy from Liverpool.
Villa were also quick to realise that they did not want to sign Elliot, while Emery is reported to view Garnacho as a long-term project, provided the young winger follows his method.
The Athletic added that two Villa sources said they “would be amazed” if Garnacho did not end up signing permanently.
That said, it is undeniably concerning for Garnacho that 19-year-old George Hemmings is ahead of him in the pecking order, at least before the break.
From Chelsea’s perspective, Garnacho becoming a permanent Villa player would be the ideal outcome. There is very little room for another winger in the Chelsea squad, and spending another summer looking for another suitor for the Argentine is the last thing the club would want.
Morgan Rogers, who signed on a Chelsea-record £117m deal from Villa in the summer, is the clear first choice for a left-side attacker under Alonso.
Garnacho’s fellow Blues left winger, Jamie Gittens, has also struggled for minutes since Rogers’ arrival, having only played 55 minutes across two Carabao Cup appearances this season.
Additionally, Geovany Quenda and Pedro Neto, who naturally play on the right, are also capable of playing on the opposite flank.