Alejandro Garnacho wants to force his way out of Manchester United and secure a £50m move to Chelsea this summer, according to reports.
The 20-year-old seems destined to leave Old Trafford in the coming weeks after being told by manager Ruben Amorim to find a new club.
Unsurprisingly Garnacho has been the subject of considerable interest from across the world, but according to The Sun the young attacker wants to stay in the Premier League and has settled upon Chelsea as his dream destination.
It would be galling to see the Argentinian flourish elsewhere in England regardless, but the reported fee of £50m seems worryingly low in today’s market and leaves a sale to Chelsea without any real upside for the Red Devils.
The Sun claim that he has instructed his agent to specifically make clear to manager Enzo Maresca that he wants to remain in the Premier League, which suggests that communications have already moved beyond making initial contact.
The report cites a source claiming that Garnacho sees the English top-flight as “the best in the world” and “while he has had some good moments at United, he wants to establish himself as a world star.
“England is the best place to do that and Chelsea have assembled a lot of good young players.”
That same source also sheds light on the broken relationship between Garnacho and some of his United team-mates, who were “angered” after the 20-year-old described the season as “s**t” after the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
It claims: “Garnacho seems to think he’s the next Ronaldo and this was his ‘exit interview’ moment, like he wanted to annoy people so much that there was no option but to sell him.
“It’s not gone down well with the rest of the players. There is a feeling that while he’s a good player, he’s not quite as good as he thinks he is.”
Chelsea were reportedly close to securing a deal for Garnacho in the January transfer window, and his entourage were spotted watching the team in action this season.
There are still plenty of other teams in for the player, who for a long time has been closely linked with Serie A champions Napoli.
More recently, Saudi clubs Al-Nassr and NEOM SC were credited with an interest in the player for what would doubtless be a more profitable move for all involved, although if Garnacho is truly targeting becoming a “world star” it’s hard to see him making such a switch.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
