Alejandro Garnacho has struggled in his debut season at Stamford Bridge and questions are now inevitably being raised over the Chelsea strikerโs future.
Alejandro Garnacho could leave Chelsea this summer (Image: Stu Forster)
Xabi Alonso will be a key figure in Chelseaโs summer transfer business in the coming months as the new manager is given more power than his predecessors at Stamford Bridge.
The transfer window has opened for less than two weeks and the Blues are already busy. Mark Cucurella signed for Real Madrid earlier this month, with Chelsea receiving a near-fixed fee of ยฃ47.4 million (with ยฃ4.3 million in additional payments possible) for the Spain internationalโs services.
In turn, the Blues have decided to spend (over) ยฃ43 million on Atalanta defender Marco Palestra, with the versatile 21-year-old defender will be in London to complete his move. There has been no official confirmation yet, but it appears that Palestra will play under Alonso next summer.
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Soon he will be able to join through the door of Maxence Lacroix. football.london understands Chelsea are working on a deal to bring the Crystal Palace defender to Stamford Bridge after naming the Frenchman as their top defensive target this summer.
In addition to these two, it is expected that there will be several more. However, Chelsea will be considering offloading a host of players before the end of the summer transfer window, with the only man likely to leave being Alejandro Garnacho.
The former Manchester United striker has struggled since moving from Old Trafford less than 12 months ago and has been widely criticized for his level of performance. Having said this, Bobby Vincent And Jake Stokes have reached a consensus on what Chelseaโs next move should be regarding Garnacho.
Bobby Vincent
Iโm not sure there are many Chelsea fans who will argue with me when I say the Blues need to move Garnacho this summer.
While the 21-year-old has shown glimpses of what he can offer Chelsea, those moments have been few and far between. His game off the ball needs serious improvement and Alonso will certainly not accept this.
Given that Chelsea spent ยฃ40 million on the Argentine defender โ a relatively modest fee in todayโs market โ they could earn most of that sum this summer. If they wait and he has another bad season, his value will continue to fall.
Chelsea believed Garnacho was worth the risk given last summerโs price tag, but he has so far failed to pay off. It would make sense for the Blues to cut ties with the former United man in the coming months as a new era begins at Stamford Bridge. Let the past remain the past.
Jake Stokes
Chelsea need to sell Garnacho. Since joining the Blues from Manchester United, the winger has faced unfair scrutiny for being unable to shake off the quaint โtroublemakerโ label, but that shouldnโt exempt him from criticism for his performances on the pitch. Garnacho has shown glimmers of promise, often appearing in the right places as well as scoring the odd goal here and there, but he has failed to consistently demonstrate the qualities required to be a striker at a club that wants to qualify and compete for the Champions League. If he had arrived at Stamford Bridge as a back-up to a world-class striker, or at least close to a world-class one, who could carry the load on the left flank and play a key role in winning trophies, rather than as an equal competitor to Jamie Gittens, then it would not have been a problem if he had stayed. Garnacho is an active player who can sometimes make an impact even off the bench. However, the Argentine is not a starter who can be relied upon every week. The problem is that Garnacho has been given the chance to play regularly for the first team at Chelsea, which he can now look forward to under Alonso, despite not earning his place. In a season where the Blues are likely to only play once, maybe twice, a week, itโs simply not realistic to keep him. All in all, Chelsea need to sign a left winger this summer. Itโs high time.