The future of Alejandro Garnacho remains up in the air.
Manchester United made the forward available for transfer this summer, alongside a number of other players when they were expected to report back for pre-season training at the start of July.
Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Tyrell Malacia, Jadon Sancho and Antony were all given time to explore other options away from Old Trafford, but since then only Rashford has departed – to Barcelona on loan.
Speaking earlier in the transfer window, United boss Ruben Amorim said: “I know for a fact Omar [Berrada, CEO] and Jason [Wilcox, director of football] and the club have a number for these players.
“If they [interested clubs] don’t reach that, they will be Manchester United players, no doubt about that. I understand other clubs are maybe waiting for the last minute, but they can have a surprise.”
There have been plenty of links with Garnacho, with Chelsea heavily linked with a move for the Argentinian, although they have now turned their attentions to RB Leipzig star Xavi Simons.
football.london understands there there is a genuine confidence from Chelsea that a deal will eventually be reached and Simons will become a Chelsea player this summer. That would suggest any move for Garnacho is dead in the water, although football.london understands the Blues remain interested in the 21-year-old.
Talk of a swap deal for Ollie Watkins at Aston Villa could be on the cards, with Tottenham also credited with an interest in Garnacho this summer.
But while Garnacho may have been made available for transfer, having seemingly fallen out with Amorim, that may not be the case after Luke Shaw delivered something of a bombshell.
Garnacho remains a United player and according to Shaw there are no bad eggs in the camp anymore. That suggests the 21-year-old could turn things around at Old Trafford.
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Shaw said: “Ruben demands 100% and that’s it and he doesn’t want anything less. If someone’s doing 85 or 90%, it’s not enough for him. I think, especially this year, if you’re not doing the right things, I feel like you won’t play.
“It’s not hard to see from the outside what it’s been like. A lot of the time I’ve been here over the last few years it’s been extremely negative. It can be quite toxic, the environment, it’s not healthy at all.
“We need an environment that’s healthy, that’s positive, that’s got good energy and happiness.
“There are no stragglers in this group any more. I think you’ve seen what he’s done in the past eight months with different players and things like that, he doesn’t care who the player is.
“I think if he’s not following what he wants, then that’s how it should be, and I think rightly so.”
Garnacho was not included in the club’s pre-season tour squad for the trip to the United States of America, and it may be that Shaw was referring to the group out across the Atlantic. But it could also be that there has been a change of heart at United.
We await to see what happens when they return to England ahead of the Premier League season starting.
