Chelsea have left no stone unturned when it has come to identifying suitable youngsters for their squads from Europe or South America. This time around, their target is a 20-year-old prodigy playing for Premier League rivals Manchester United as it has emerged that the Blues are considering a transfer for Alejandro Garnacho.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea have already made a ‘formal approach’ to sign the Argentine international from the Red Devils. Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation has not worked in favour of most wingers at Old Trafford and Garnacho’s playing time has taken a big hit as a result, thereby opening the door to his departure in January itself.
Man United will not let him walk away on the cheap, however, with Romano suggesting that their asking price for Garnacho has been set at approximately £59 million. Napoli are also keen on the PL star although Antonio Conte’s side may be priced out by the Red Devils’ demands, whereas TyC Sport (h/t 90min) has claimed that Stamford Bridge is Garnacho’s ‘preferred destination’.
Another expensive winger?
Chelsea have spent a decent amount of money on acquiring wingers not very long back. They secured Joao Felix’s and Pedro Neto’s signings from Atletico Madrid and Wolverhampton Wanderers, respectively, in the preceded summer transfer window while as things stand, they are obliged to purchase Jadon Sancho from Manchester United too.
Not to mention, neither player apart from Sancho has been a regular fixture in Enzo Maresca’s side with Noni Madueke being the other beneficiary of game time on the flanks. Alejandro Garnacho is yet another out-wide option linked with a move to West London and it comes as a big surprise, primarily due to his £59 million price tag as well.
It does not take an expert to conclude that Chelsea are well-staffed on their flanks and the board’s focus must instead be on revamping the backline, potentially the midfield and bringing in a number nine this summer.
It remains to be seen if their talks with United actually end up with Garnacho joining the Pensioners too, in which case Maresca would have a big selection headache and the trouble of keeping several superstar egos in check.
