Chelsea have reportedly ramped up their pursuit of Alejandro Garnacho, who has told Manchester United that he will only join Enzo Maresca's side this summer, or stay at Old Trafford amid a fractured relationship with Ruben Amorim. The 21-year-old has not featured in pre-season at all for the Red Devils and was instructed to find a new club by his head coach after the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham.
Garnacho was cast aside alongside Marcus Rashford, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia and that five-man bomb squad trained separately from the rest of the squad. They were not taken on the United States tour and are trying to find new homes ahead of the new season.
Chelsea were immediately described as contenders to land Garnacho, despite United's initial asking price of £70million, having tried to poach him in the January window. The likes of Napoli, Aston Villa and Saudi Arabia were also considered potential suitors.
But The Athletic claim that negotiations have been stepped up by Chelsea, who have been in club-to-club contact for some time, though those talks are now described as advanced. The Argentina international expects to move to west London, having given an ultimatum that Chelsea were the only team he would consider.
Ruling out all other options would likely make life more difficult for United in negotiations with Chelsea, who have been able to wait patiently for their rivals' valuation to drop.
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