2 hours ago
23
Alejandro Garnacho has been in superb form for Chelsea in recent matches with the former Manchester United winger already one of the first names on Enzo Maresca's team sheet
Alejandro Garnacho completely divided the Chelsea fan base when he signed for the club in the summer transfer window. After weeks of discussions between the Blues and Manchester United, the two clubs eventually agreed on a £40million fee for the 21-year-old winger.
After a public fallout with former United manager Ruben Amorim, it led many to question Garnacho's attitude on and off the field. Chelsea did their due diligence on Garnacho and there were no problems in that respect and the Blues decided to take a £40million punt - in the knowledge that if it pays off, then they would have one hell of a bargain on their hands.
It was a slow start for Garnacho but that was to be expected given the lack of pre-season he had while still at Old Trafford. Garnacho essentially did his own pre-season in his opening few Chelsea matches. Only in recent games has it felt fair to start properly judging the Blues winger.
With two goals and two assists in his last four games in all competitions, Garnacho is beginning to look like the player Chelsea thought they were signing in the summer. He is beginning to look like the player United thought they were in the years before he moved on from Manchester.
Former United boss Erik ten Hag, who Garnacho made almost 100 appearances under during his two-year tenure at the club, once said the Argentine has the potential to one day become world-class. And while there is still so much for Garnacho to do to achieve said status, he is well on his way at Stamford Bridge with a really promising start to life under Enzo Maresca.
"You have gone very quickly; world-class is something where he has to go a long way," Ten Hag explained in August 2024. "He has a high potential, 100%, but last season he contributed and he can be a starting XI player."
He added: "To make that jump to being a world-class player, he has a long way to go. It starts with hard work. That has brought him to where he is now and that will bring him to being a world-class player because I agree he has the potential."
Ten Hag mentioned he needs to continue working hard in order to become one of the world's best - something Maresca has referenced plenty during his short time in SW6 thus far. Maresca has emphasised how Garnacho needs to improve off the ball and the Chelsea head coach has been impressed with what he has seen so far.
After Chelsea's win over Wolves before the international break, where Garnacho produced two assists for his teammates, Maresca said: "He arrived here from another club where he was not training 100%. So his physical condition was not good.
"Slowly, slowly, now it's better. He's doing very well on the ball, but he's doing very, very well off the ball. He knows that to play with us, he has to be good on the ball and off the ball. Otherwise, he's not going to play. We are very happy with him at the moment."
Maresca is delighted with Garnacho, and that much is obvious given his team selection. Garnacho has started the last five Premier League matches for the Blues and will be hoping that number increases to six this weekend with Chelsea making the trip up to Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
Chelsea knock 50% off kits and merch
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Kitbag has slashed the price of Chelsea kits and merch with up to 50% off select items.
Bobby has been with football.london for over two years and has been covering Chelsea since the summer of 2022. During that time, he has been front and centre in perhaps the club's most turbulent time with Roman Abramovich selling to Todd Boehly. He is a regular at press conferences and matches, where he has managed to speak to Enzo Maresca and numerous Chelsea players.
English (US) ·