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Roberto Di Matteo believes Alejandro Garnacho could be "one of the best bits of business" Chelsea have done in recent years after the Blues signed the winger for £40million from Manchester United over the summer.
Chelsea confirmed the capture of the 21-year-old late into the summer transfer window after spending weeks negotiating with United over a fee. The Blues went into talks with the stance that they would not pay more than £30million, while United were holding out for a figure closer to the £50million-mark.
As clubs often do in these situations, they found common ground somewhere in the middle, with Chelsea paying United a fixed fee of £40million for Garnacho, football.london understands. The Argentine was not selected for his country's two matches over the international break, so has spent the week working at Chelsea's training centre in Cobham.
Di Matteo is optimistic when it comes to Garnacho. While some supporters remain divided on the winger, the former Chelsea manager believes at a - in today's market - modest £40million, the Blues could well have found themselves a bargain, but also acknowledged we will not know whether it is good value until he steps onto the pitch for his new club.
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"Time will tell us [if Garnacho is a good signing]," Di Matteo said to football.london on behalf of BetVictor Online Casino. "When you look at the player, on paper, he is an awesome player. Let's not forget he is also very young, so he needs to mature and learn how to deal with certain challenges within a team environment and a club environment.
"But for the money they paid for him, if he is going to fulfil the potential that he has - which we all can see because he is an exceptional player - then it could be one of the best bits of business they have done in the last few years. The fee they paid for him is really not that high for a young, promising, talented player like him."
Garnacho is expected to come straight into the Chelsea squad for this weekend's Premier League clash away at Brentford. Whether or not the new Blues signing makes his first start remains to be seen but the expectation is that he will be named in the 20-man squad at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Likewise, Facundo Buonanotte could make his debut for Chelsea after signing on a season-long loan deal on transfer deadline day. The Blues ended up paying Brighton a total of £2million for the loan fee but do not have an option, or obligation, to make the deal permanent for the 20-year-old.
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