There are six weeks left of the transfer window but surely we won’t see a player fall upwards quite as far as Alejandro Garnacho.
The winger is set to reverse Rogers by leaving Chelsea to join Aston Villa, making this the second successive summer he joins a Champions League club from a Big Six-er in European exile.
Chelsea and now Villa have looked at Garnacho and decided that he was a symptom more than any cause of the terrible ills at both of his clubs in the last two seasons. Was his presence on the scene of both really a coincidence?
Chelsea giving Garnacho the benefit of the doubt was more understandable given the circus from which he was escaping at Old Trafford. But no one could watch the Blues last season and conclude that, again, it was the club holding the player back.
Maybe Unai Emery is bored. Perhaps managing Villa has become too easy for him. Having rejuvenated Villa, taking them from the doldrums to the top of the European game, perhaps he needs these individual rehabilitation projects to pique his interest.
Emery’s niche fascination seems to focus on downtrodden ex-Manchester United wingers, with Garnacho his latest project.
Third time lucky? A half season under Emery’s wing was good for Marcus Rashford, but Rashford wasn’t good enough to become a fixture in the XI or to tempt Villa into taking up the £40million option to sign him permanently.
Few would deny that Rashford was a punt worth taking in the winter of 2025. Jadon Sancho seemed a far tougher test of Emery’s healing powers and so it proved. The ex-England winger failed to make any impact of note and he too was returned to sender, with Villa not even tempted for free.
Having also flopped at Chelsea between United and Villa, Garnacho’s situation is more akin to Sancho’s than Rashford. Emery is offering an opportunity at Villa that the Argentine’s form and focus in the last two seasons do not merit.
Recognising that might be the first step towards redemption for Garnacho but there is no available evidence to suggest that he or his entourage possess the necessary self-awareness.
We have to assume that Emery’s expectations have been made in the clearest, simplest terms. Because while the Villa boss is very fair, he’s even firmer. Even those temporarily blinded by their own ego must see that he won’t tolerate slacking when it comes to training or tactics.
Garnacho might want to consult with Harvey Elliott over the consequences of not fitting into Emery’s system. Emery admitted Elliott’s situation was “embarrassing for everyone involved”, his exile coming despite maintaining an “exemplary” attitude. But the Liverpool loanee’s lost season must serve as a warning to Garnacho for failing to fall in line with Emery’s tactical demands.
It will be fascinating to see exactly what Emery wants from Garnacho. The Villa boss tends to utilise his left wingers inside, more as no.10s, with Rogers and Emi Buendia thriving in such roles last season.
Xabi Alonso may take a similar approach with Chelsea, hence why he signed Rogers for a role where he clearly doesn’t fancy Garnacho.
Emery must see something in Garnacho that Alonso – and the rest of us – hasn’t. Maybe he can thrive by starting inside the pitch.
As an inverted winger, Garnacho is often predictable and lacks the necessary pace to panic defences. He might be better suited in pockets of space between defenders as opposed to outside them.
While we speculate over Emery’s intentions, the void of clarity inevitably prompts suggestions of this being part of a mutual backscratching arrangement between two clubs whose books are being carefully kept and watched.
But such cynicism does not stand up to much scrutiny, unless Villa enter into a deal that makes it more likely than not that they will be obliged to sign Garnacho permanently.
In that respect, they pushed their luck with Elliott, who needed only 10 Premier League appearances to become a permanent Villan. Emery drew the conclusions he needed in three.
So, in all likelihood, Chelsea will save on Garnacho’s wages but little else. To get anything like their investment back, the Blues – like Villa and the player himself – need Emery’s latest redemption project to succeed.
