Chelsea are confident that the Spanish-born Argentina international attacker, frozen out by Ruben Amorim, only wants to join them and will turn down all other interested parties, including those from Italy. The 21-year-old is the biggest saleable asset at United among those who have been told they are no longer part of the manager’s plans.
United have taken their spending in this summer alone to more than £200m with the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko, the Slovenian forward from RB Leipzig who joins Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo in the revamped United attack.
Chelsea have been interested in Garnacho for two windows now and Telegraph Sport reported last week that the club had completed all their background checks on the out-of-favour forward. They want to get the deal done.
In the past the west Londoners have offered a player exchange for Garnacho, potentially involving Nicolas Jackson or Christopher Nkunku but have been told by United that a cash deal is the only option. The £50m paid to Chelsea by Arsenal for the England international Noni Madueke, 23, is regarded as the benchmark for the Garnacho deal.
In a World Cup year, United do not expect Argentina international Garnacho to sit out another year of his contract at a club where he has little prospect of playing.
Chelsea value the player at less than £50m, especially given that Garnacho’s relationship with Amorim deteriorated swiftly after the new manager’s arrival in November. It came to a head when he was left out of the team that played the Europa League final in May. Chelsea have also looked at Xavi Simons as an alternative.
United need to sell some of their disaffected group of players for cash to generate more space in their profit and sustainability compliancy going forward. Ideally they would like a market for Garnacho. Chelsea have been much more effective at selling fringe players with big fees generated by the likes of Madueke, Joao Felix, Djordje Petrovic and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall − in total around £175m raised.
Jackson is also available for sale in what is likely to be the most-profitable transfer yet this window for Chelsea. The striker is now top of the list for Newcastle United after Sesko has agreed a deal at Old Trafford. The club face competition from Tottenham Hotspur should their Brazilian attacker Richarlison leave. There is other Premier League interest as well as that from AC Milan and Juventus in Italy.
Brentford are understood to be asking for between £50m and £55m for striker Yoane Wissa. At 28, he has a single year left on his contract with an option for a further year. Jackson, 24, signed a contract in September that takes him to 2033. Chelsea would look at the benchmarking of deals for Sesko, Mbeumo and Viktor Gyokeres and value Jackson at more than £60m.