Alejandro Garnacho is close to joining Chelsea following a breakthrough in talks with Manchester United.
football.london understands the Blues have been in talks with United over signing Garnacho, with the club being long-time admirers of the Argentina international. On Thursday, it was reported by the Athletic that Chelsea had stepped up talks with United over a move for the winger.
Chelsea had considered a move during the winter transfer window and maintained their interest, despite already signing Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund this summer.
Garnacho is not involved with United’s first team during pre-season, similar to Jadon Sancho, and how Marcus Rashford wasn’t prior to his loan move to Barcelona.
He last featured for United in their 3-1 win over Hong Kong on May 30 during the post-season tour. His most recent competitive appearance came off the bench in the Europa League final just over a week prior.
With that said, football.london has taken a look at the latest developments involving Garnacho.
Personal terms ‘agreed’
Agreeing personal terms with Garnacho has not been an issue with the winger keen to continue playing in the English top-flight.
The news emerged on Friday morning, with Fabrizio Romano stating that the Argentine has ‘agreed every detail’ of personal terms with the Blues.
He added that it’s a done deal on the player’s side, with talks between Chelsea and Manchester United over a fee set to follow soon.
Chelsea ‘or nothing’
Before agreeing to personal terms with Chelsea, Romano reported that the 21-year-old only wanted to join Enzo Maresca’s team.
His preference was to stay in the Premier League, despite interest from Napoli.
Ruben Amorim comments
“I think Garnacho, you can understand and you can see, he’s talented, he’s a really talented boy,”Amorim acknowledged. “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; it’s a natural thing in football.”
Valuation
Our colleagues at The Manchester Evening News have reported that United previously valued Garnacho at £70 million, but that figure may be difficult to reach due to the public fallout surrounding his situation at the club.
He remains under contract at Old Trafford until the summer of 2028.
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