According to reports, Chelsea have been ‘dealt a big blow’ as Manchester United are prepared to ‘snub a bid’ for Alejandro Garnacho.
Chelsea are among the clubs in the race to sign Garnacho after Man Utd made their academy product available for transfer.
A huge overhaul is required at Old Trafford, but they need to sell before they can buy as head coach Ruben Amorim is working with a ‘tight’ budget.
Man Utd’s struggles over the past 18 months leave most of their squad at risk of being sold. Garnacho is a prime candidate to go as he would be a pure profit sale and does not appear to fit into Amorim’s preferred 3-5-2 formation.
Serie A giants Napoli are understood to be leading the race to sign Garnacho, but transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the Blues are also interested.
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Romano said: ‘Napoli’s opening bid for Alejandro Garnacho worth €50m package add-ons included; Man United want more.
‘Antonio Conte keeps pushing after the call with Garnacho on Friday.
‘Chelsea made contact with United and the player side, now deciding internally whether to bid or not.’
A report in Italy claims Garnacho has decided his ‘preference’ is a move to Italy, but Football Insider claims Chelsea have been ‘dealt a big blow’ with Man Utd in favour of ‘selling him abroad’.
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It’s also noted that the Red Devils would ‘snub a bid’ from Chelsea if a suitable offer from abroad arrives.
‘United are considering selling the 20-year-old winger before the 3 February deadline after running into issues with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
‘Garnacho is an academy product and would raise pure profit for the Red Devils, who are looking for a big-money fee of more than £50million for his signature.
‘He is also attracting interest from Serie A side Napoli – who have sold Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris Saint-Germain this month and are in need of a replacement.
‘It is believed United are keen to sell Garnacho outside of the Premier League if a suitable offer arrives from the Italian club – dealing a big blow to Chelsea’s hopes of landing him.
‘They are open to an exit for the Argentina international despite already looking set to sanction an exit for big-money flop Antony, who is poised to join Real Betis on loan.’
Another report from Football Insider claims Man Utd are looking to sell one of their academy products to ‘strengthen their PSR position’.
‘The Premier League giants’ latest accounts for 2023-24 revealed they generated a club-record revenue of £661.8million despite recording a net loss of £113.2million across the same period.
‘That meant they were close to the spending limit last season, with top-flight sides only permitted to make £105million of losses over a rolling three-year period.
‘Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been looking to cut costs since taking over the footballing operations at Old Trafford in February last year.
‘Man United’s PSR position has, however, taken a hit in recent months after spending around £30million on redundancy payments paid out to former members of staff and the costs associated with appointing Ruben Amorim as Erik ten Hag’s successor.
‘Sources have told Football Insider Old Trafford chiefs are keen to sell an academy player this month to ease their PSR concerns as those costs are understood to have taken them close to the spending limit again this season.’
