Alejandro Garnacho exposes Man Utd and Ruben Amorim myth as key Chelsea message revealed

Alejandro Garnacho scored his third and fourth goals for Chelsea on Tuesday evening as the former Manchester United winger inspired the Blues to victory in Cardiff

There were question marks placed on Chelsea's decision to sign Alejandro Garnacho in the summer transfer window. During his time at Manchester United, the 21-year-old had a rather public dispute with manager Ruben Amorim and the winger's attitude came under the microscope.

Garnacho was used for just 20 minutes in United's Europa League final defeat to Tottenham in May and the Argentine, speaking post-match, was critical of Amorim's decision to use him from the bench. He said: "Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes. I don't know.

"The final will influence [my decision whether or not to leave United] but the whole season, the situation of the club. I'm going to try to enjoy the summer and see what happens afterwards."

Chelsea supporters were divided when the club decided to spend £40million on Garnacho towards the end of the summer transfer window. Having one bad egg in the squad is enough to ruin morale sometimes, but the club did the required due diligence before paying United the money for his services, football.london understands.

It was, though, a gamble to take sign Garnacho. For £40million, though, a fairly modest fee in today's market, it was one worth taking from Chelsea's point of view.

So far, the gamble looks as if it has the potential to pay off. The former United man has featured 17 times for the Blues since signing for the club and has established himself as one of Enzo Maresca's most trustworthy players on the left-hand side.

Maresca has spoke repeatedly about Garnacho's need to improve when out of possession, and help the left-back, usually Marc Cucurella, by tracking back. Pedro Neto, who tends to play on the other side, is the shining example of what a Maresca winger looks like.

There is no doubting Garnacho is improving in that aspect. football.london put the question to the Argentine last week about his work-rate and what Maresca demands from him, and he said: "Today, in modern football, defending is an important part of the game because every team you face is strong and you have to defend with everyone.

"I know I have to defend if I want to play, he [Maresca] told me this. So I try to do the work he asks and with the ball, he told me to go with it and if I lose it recover. So I have to help the team defensively but that is a part of football."

What he has done at Stamford Bridge thus far - in terms of his off-the-ball improvement - does a lot to rubbish suggestions that he carries around a bad attitude. So far, Garnacho has been the ultimate professional. That is evident because Maresca clearly trusts him and the Chelsea boss will not accept anything less than the utmost professionalism from anyone in his squad.

Garnacho was the match winner for Chelsea on Tuesday evening as they survived a scare in the Carabao Cup quarter-final against League One leaders Cardiff City. After a dire first-half, Maresca turned to his bench at half-time and brought Garnacho and Joao Pedro on for the second period and they, particularly the former, changed the game.

After missing a big opportunity, where he probably should have scored, with one of his first touches since coming on, Garnacho didn't let that affect him mentally. Moments later, he finished calmly into the bottom corner to put the visitors ahead in south Wales, before adding to his tally deep into stoppage time - finding the same corner from a similar position.

Whether it's from the start or from the bench, Garnacho is playing like he has a point to prove. And that is ultimately what Chelsea want from these young players they continue to sign.

Maresca, while demanding a lot from the Argentine off the ball, allows Garnacho to play with freedom when attacking the opposition goal. His half-time message to the winger on Tuesday tells you just that: "He [Maresca] just said to me: play your game, try to help the team and that's what I did.

"Sometimes it's with goals and sometimes it's with hard work. Tonight it was with goals, so I'm really happy to score."