Alejandro Garnacho completes Chelsea transfer
Alejandro Garnacho stands frustrated after the Europa League final. (Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Alejandro Garnacho has wrapped up a move away from **Man United**to sign for Chelsea.
The Guardian has reported that the transfer will take place in the region of £35 to £40 million. The Red Devils tabled an asking price of £50 million earlier in the window, but with deadline day looming at the start of the next week, the two Premier League clubs have agreed on a lower payment.
This transfer will end a five year association between Garnacho and the club. He moved to Carrington from Atletico Madrid in 2020, spending two years in the academy, and he made his debut for the first team in October 2022. It did not take too long for the Argentine to assert his influence on the plans.
Garnacho grabbed his first senior goal in a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad in the Europa League. By the middle of November, he had come off the bench to score a last gasp winner against Fulham, and he remained an impact off the bench, appearing 34 times for the Red Devils across that campaign.
His fitness has been exemplary over the last two seasons, and his abilities are apparent. But is a 21-year-old with proven impact in the **Premier League**such a divisive figure in the eyes of viewers?
The case for Garnacho
Not many players at the same age as Garnacho have earned as many minutes in such a competitive division. He has played for Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim across two of the most turbulent years in the history of the club. Yet, he made 36 **Premier League**appearances in his last two campaigns.
Of course, that speaks to the quality in the ranks of his old club. **Man United**only registered 44 league goals last term, the fifth lowest goal tally in the English top tier. Big money incomings in Jadon Sancho and **Antony**have not lived up to the billing, while **Joshua Zirkzee**and Rasmus Højlund have not grabbed the role of the number nine with both hands, putting a burden upon him.
But that is a burden he has been able to bear physically and mentally. The transition to the men's game has not dulled his ability to make constant runs in matches and be available whenever called upon.
His confidence is also through the roof. With **Cristiano Ronaldo**as an inspiration, one of the most useful lessons he would have learned from the legend is having a bulletproof mentality. Criticism does not cut deep for him at all, and he is always willing to keep posing problems to opposition defences.
Over ninety minutes, that relentless attitude can help subs make a difference against tired legs, or it can simply rattle a backline enough to force mistakes. His impact as an option off the bench has been useful for Man United, and in a chaotic context, his approach has allowed him to make more of an impact than players bought for bigger prices expected to shoulder the burden of playing for the team.
The case against Garnacho
But confidence can come at a cost. It would be easier to be bullish about Garnacho making the jump to being an outstanding player if he had shown signs of coupling volume of actions with success.
In the 2024/25 season, he was by far and away the **Man United**player with the most activity in terms of shots (3.5 per 90). Yet, he still only scored six goals, one fewer strike than the campaign before.
His carries and combination play can be even more frustrating. His dribbling completion rate would bottom out at 29.2% last term, the lowest in the **Premier League**for players with over 70 attempts.
Off the field, his attitude has angered fans and managers alike. Ten Hag handed him the keys over **Anthony Elanga**as a project winger from the academy, but the pair continued to clash heads, with the player even taking to Twitter to like posts that were critical of the Dutchman's decisions.
Amorim dropped him from the trip to the Etihad Stadium in December, only weeks into his reign. Unlike Marcus Rashford, there was a way back into the plans, but the alliance has not lasted long.
Mason Mount earned one of the spots in the starting eleven for the **Europa League**final, and the Argentine watched from the bench. Incensed, he would call out his manager after full time, and the incident has seen him iced out from future plans as one-fifth of the Portuguese's 'bomb squad.'
Rashford has gone on loan to **Barcelona**for the next year, but Garnacho is the only member of this group to have gained a permanent exit. Perhaps that is telling. Stamford Bridge beckons as his new home, but what will determine whether this gamble goes for or against the Blues as an investment?
Will this bet work out for the Blues?
Garnacho is most likely to play on the left wing for his new side. Now that Noni Madueke is out of the picture and Sancho has gone back to Man United, his main rival for minutes is Jamie Gittens.
The Englishman, 38 days younger than Garnacho, is a project player. His **Premier League**debut against Crystal Palace was not impressive, and only time will tell how long he needs to adapt.
For a fee much lower than the £60 million touted in the winter, **Chelsea**are getting a player who has shown how he can trouble teams in the English top flight. At the same time, he has to display the discipline to knuckle down and fight for the starting spot against a fellow BlueCo signing.
If Enzo Maresca can find a way to put him in structured positions to repeatedly attack the box and maximise his energy, Garnacho could take the next step in his career as a **Premier League**forward.
However, it takes two to tango. The 21-year-old has seen where his attitude can land him: by no means a bad situation, but not the way that he would have wanted to part ways with Man United.
Garnacho has walked into a club with chaos of its own kind: a revolving door of talent with young players who are trying to kick on in their careers. It seems that **Chelsea**have now cracked the code in managing their group, and if that is correct, Garnacho must grasp this moment as a chance to mature.