Unai Emery had a front-row seat to see Alejandro Garnacho at his very best. The Aston Villa manager cut a frustrated figure in his technical area, watching while the winger reserved one of his finer performances for Chelsea in a 4-1 away victory at Villa Park in early March.
With Pedro Neto suspended, Garnacho exuded positivity throughout. Rarely did he seek to play a safe pass backwards. He was fast, direct, and unselfishly set up Joao Pedro to complete his hat-trick.
Our only gripe on the night was that Garnacho did not grab a goal for himself. He had enough opportunities while bursting beyond Emery’s back line.
Even so, Villa Park witnessed the potential of this player, who only turned 22 years old a few weeks back. There is an attacker who can influence games lying within, and if Villa are successful in signing Garnacho after opening talks with Chelsea over an initial loan with a conditional obligation to buy, perhaps Emery could be the coach to coax that confidence out of him.
Neither Enzo Maresca nor Liam Rosenior nor Calum McFarlane were able to do so during his single season with Chelsea. Electric evenings like that one at Villa were rare. Those at Stamford Bridge were more used to seeing Garnacho struggle for form on their left wing, and there was one Premier League game in particular which impacted how his campaign ended.
That was in late January, when Chelsea were losing at home to West Ham and Garnacho had given up possession 10 times by the 32nd minute. He was hooked at half-time while his team were trailing 2-0. In the second half, they staged a comeback, winning 3-2 without him.
Alejandro Garnacho’s Chelsea career is all but over after just one disappointing season, with Aston Villa primed to sign him
Former Manchester United star Garnacho started just two of Chelsea’s final 14 Premier League games in 2025-26
In the 14 Premier League fixtures which followed that turnaround, Garnacho started only twice – one of those arriving at Villa. Both club and player came to the conclusion that it was not working.
Indeed, sources on both sides today say the decision for Garnacho to leave is mutual. It is not only that Chelsea want to find Garnacho a new home. Garnacho wants out of Chelsea, too.
The 22-year-old Argentinian sensed his status as surplus to requirements. The final reminder came in the last game of the season away at Sunderland. Garnacho never received word to remove his orange bib.
He remained an unused substitute in a match the visitors only needed to avoid losing to secure some form of European football. They lost 2-1 at the Stadium of Light.
As revealed by Daily Mail Sport earlier this month, Garnacho did not return for pre-season at Cobham alongside all of their other non-World Cup call-ups. That followed talks between him and Chelsea. He was told he could stay away while they worked on securing a transfer.
Despite his disappointing season, there was belief inside the club that the market was aching for wingers like him. Chelsea were prioritising a permanent sale while speaking with Serie A side Roma, but then Villa came along, with Garnacho and Nicolas Jackson’s names raised during their talks for Morgan Rogers.
Villa do not mind taking a chance on a player who has encountered an unfortunate patch in his career. They did so with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho. The only concern for Chelsea might be that Villa did not then sign either of those players permanently, and the same goes for Harvey Elliott, the Liverpool loanee who was practically held hostage by his own conditional obligation – of 10 appearances – last season.
Garnacho was only signed by Chelsea from Manchester United last summer. He turned down an approach from Saudi side Al Nassr in that window. There was also an enquiry from Bayern Munich before they signed Luis Diaz, and – as a reminder of Emery’s long-term respect – Villa. Chelsea paid a fixed fee worth £40million with no add-ons, and United retained a 10 per cent sell-on clause.
Chelsea tried to help Garnacho along the way. Liam Rosenior (left) felt a particular need to try to protect his player, sensing he was someone who preferred an arm around him
Garnacho celebrates after forcing an own goal from Arthur Okonkwo in Chelsea’s FA Cup win at Wrexham in March – but positive moments were few and far between last term
Employees at Cobham were unsure what to expect with Garnacho. Like all of us, they had heard the stories, had seen how it ended at United, and were aware he arrived with a reputation.
Yet speak to those sources today and you will find they rather liked the lad. He is described as shy and misunderstood, and we are reminded that he arrived at Chelsea at the age of 21.
He also turned up later than everyone else, without a pre-season behind him, and ended up playing under three head coaches in nine months. It was not an easy campaign in which to adapt to a new club.
Chelsea tried to help Garnacho along the way. Rosenior felt a particular need to try to protect his player, sensing he was someone who preferred an arm around him.
When asked at one press conference why Garnacho was booed wherever he went, Rosenior’s answer bordered on what your mum tells you when the bullies at school are being mean – jealousy. ‘I don’t understand why that happens,’ Rosenior told us. ‘Maybe it’s because he can be such a threat.’
Chelsea put their player up for a Champions League press conference before playing Atalanta. That presser was only the warm-up. The club then arranged a sit-down interview with Premier League Productions to tell his story and to his credit, Garnacho came across as sincere, or a ‘normal guy’ as he described himself.
He discussed being a humble father to his two-year-old son Enzo, and conceded he had made mistakes – presumably referring to his social media presence, like when he wore a Villa shirt with fellow outcast Marcus Rashford’s name on the back.
Now, he could be wearing a Villa shirt all over again, should talks lead to an agreement.
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery doesn’t mind taking a chance on a player who has encountered an unfortunate patch in his career. He did so with Marcus Rashford (pictured)
Speak to those sources at Cobham and you will find they rather liked Garnacho. He is described as shy and misunderstood
It is naturally a curious link, given both Chelsea and Villa are working under financial restrictions with UEFA, who would scrutinise any deal struck for Garnacho so soon after Rogers headed in the other direction for £117m. They can bet other clubs will be watching what happens closely, too.
Per UEFA’s written rules, if a conditional obligation in a loan is considered to be ‘virtually certain’, then the temporary transfer must be categorised as a permanent one from the offset. It would need to be seen as genuinely conditional in the eyes of European football’s governing body.
Villa could, of course, argue that their loan arrangement for Elliott may have appeared ‘virtually certain’ – he only had to play 10 Premier League games to be bought permanently from Liverpool for £35m – but it was never triggered.
Whatever happens, Chelsea and Garnacho realise their time together is up, after a season in which they learned they were not suited for one another.
