Chelsea have stepped up their interest in Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho after the Red Devils agreed a deal to sign Benjamin Sesko, according to reports.
Enzo Maresca’s side have been very busy in the summer transfer window, to the surprise of absolutely nobody.
So far this summer, they have bought eight players for a combined £246million, which makes them the second-highest spenders of the window behind Premier League champions Liverpool.
The Blues’ front three will look very different from last season following the additions of Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund and Joao Pedro from Brighton, while Liam Delap and Estevao have also joined.
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They have sold Noni Madueke and Joao Felix, but with Pedro Neto, Tyrique George, Raheem Sterling, Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Mykhaylo Mudryk still at the club, Chelsea hardly need to sign any more attackers.
That won’t stop them, though.
According to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein, talks between Chelsea and Man United are accelerating after the latter reached an ‘agreement’ with RB Leipzig for the transfer of Benjamin Sesko.
The Red Devils now desperately need to raise funds through player sales, and Garnacho is someone they’ve been trying to sell all summer, along with Jadon Sancho, Tyrell Malacia and Antony.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly willing to listen to offers for most first-team players, with club captain Bruno Fernandes the subject of a £100m bid from Saudi Arabia earlier this summer.
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United want around £60m for Garnacho, with this report stating that ‘a price of £70m has previously been communicated to suitors’, which feels wildly unrealistic, but if there’s a club unhinged enough to pay that, it’s Chelsea.
Ornstein says the Blues have ‘stepped up talks’ with both Premier League clubs ‘in touch over Garnacho’ and have been for ‘some time’.
It’s confirmed that these talks are now ‘advancing’, and the Argentine winger ‘expects to move to Stamford Bridge’.
Garnacho has decided to ‘rule out all options this summer’, except for joining Chelsea and staying at United.
The 21-year-old played 58 times across all competitions last season as several United attackers missed time through injury.
He registered 11 goals and 10 assists, helping Ruben Amorim’s side reach the final of the Europa League, which they lost to Tottenham Hotspur.
Garnacho joined United’s academy from Atletico Madrid in October 2020, which would qualify him as a ‘pure profit’ sale.
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