United want to sell Garnacho this summer and the player's preference is to remain in the Premier League.placeholder image
United want to sell Garnacho this summer and the player's preference is to remain in the Premier League. | Getty Images
Chelsea continue to be linked with Alejandro Garnacho but the Man Utd winger comes with a lot of baggage.
Football is an emotional sport, played by emotional individuals who often have an over inflated sense of how important they are.
At the elite level of sport, athletes always back themselves and believe in their own ability and Chelsea-linked Alejandro Garnacho is no different to any other 21-year old currently earning millions in the Premier League or other top division across the continent. He wants to have a starring role in his team and feels that he is more than good enough to be at a big club and be one of the main men. At Man Utd, he is currently training on his own and pushing for an exit because Ruben Amorim disagrees with this assessment.
Is it a risk for Chelsea to sign Alejandro Garnacho?
Stamford Bridge remains Garnacho’s most likely destination, however, after the signing of Jamie Gittens and the possible arrival of Xavi Simons, there doesn’t seem to be a need for the Argentina international given how much the deal would cost in terms of transfer fee and wages. Then the is the winger’s history of causing friction and creating headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Everyone makes mistakes and, to coin a cliche, footballers are only human, but making the same mistake more than once is a red flag that Chelsea should have as an asterisk next to Garnacho’s name. Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim have both had to deal with attitude and discipline issues which should be enough for Enzo Maresca to veto any potential move.
What have previous managers said about Garnacho’s attitude?
His future at Old Trafford was almost confirmed when he came out after the Europa League final and question Amorim’s decision to leave him on the bench for msot of the game: "Up until the final I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don't know,” said Garnacho.
"The final will influence [my decision] but the whole season, the situation of the club. I'm going to try to enjoy the summer and see what happens afterwards."
After this interview, Garnacho was photographed wearing an Aston Villa top with “Rashford” on the back of it in a show of solidarity for his United teammate. What also didn’t help, was his brother posting on Instagram, also via BBC Sport.
"Working as no-one else, helping every round, coming from two goals in the last two finals, just to be on the pitch for 19 mins and get thrown under the bus," wrote Roberto Garnacho about his brother’s lack of game time in the Europa League final.
Erik ten Hag was more than happy to give Garnacho game time, however, on at least two separate occasions, immaturity and the need to learn was used as an excuse for the winger’s behaviour.
"There were some issues (with his attitude), but young players have to learn what is needed for the lifestyle of a professional footballer," the former Red Devils’ boss said at the start of the 2023/24 season, via Sky Sports, only to have to repeat a similar statement at the end of the same campaign after the player liked posts on social media criticism Ten Hag’s decision to take him off in a game: "Alejandro is a young player, he has to learn a lot," said Ten Hag via BBC Sport. "He apologised for it and after that we move on."
Ten Hag is a completely different type of manager to Amorim and yet the current United boss has had just as many problems, speaking during the Premier League Series of fixtures in the USA, the Portuguese boss explained why Garnacho wasn’t part of his plans.
"I think Garnacho, you can understand and you can see, he's talented, he's a really talented boy," Amorim said. "And sometimes things don't work out. You cannot explain specifically what it is.
"But I have the feeling, I think it's clear that Garnacho wants a different thing with a different leadership. And I can understand that. So I think it's not a problem. Sometimes you adapt to one guy, you have the connection. Other times, you want a new challenge. So, we try to make everything okay to all the parts.
“To the club, to the coach and to the players. So, it's a natural thing in football."
If it had happened once, then maybe it could be put down to youthful exuberance, but at 21-years old, he has caused managers more problems than some players go through their whole careers causing and doesn’t appear even remotely interested in learning his lesson.
With competition for places at Chelsea as tough as they are anywhere in the Premier League, it isn’t the place to be for a player who throws their toys out when the going gets tough.
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