Enzo Maresca's dream Chelsea starting line-up if Alejandro Garnacho completes £60m transfer
Chelsea remain interested in signing Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United this month with the west London club discussing internally about the next step as they explore their options.
football.london understands the Blues are considering their options regarding adding a left winger to their ranks in the January transfer window, with Garnacho being one of the numerous players they hold an interest in. With Mykhailo Mudryk provisionally suspended from football after failing a drugs test last month, Chelsea are looking to bring another left-sided winger to Stamford Bridge, whether it be before the February 3 deadline, or in the summer transfer window at the end of the season.
Garnacho has been identified as someone with the tools required to help Chelsea between now and the end of the season as the Blues continue to fight on three fronts in Enzo Maresca's debut campaign in SW6. While a move for Garnacho is being considered, football.london understands nothing has been decided yet on the 20-year-old Argentina international, with the likes of Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens also of interest to Chelsea.
READ MORE: Chelsea reach agreement as Ruben Amorim issues Alejandro Garnacho Man United transfer update
READ MORE: Enzo Maresca facing Chelsea certainty vs Man City with only one possible alternative
Ruben Amorim recently insisted Garnacho has a future at Old Trafford, but the winger has started just four of the 11 Premier League matches since the Portuguese took over on the red side of Manchester in November. Amorim's three-back system means there is more of an onus on the wing-backs and with Garnacho being a more attacking inside forward, it has not been a seamless transition for the Argentine.
On top of that, reports earlier this month claimed United are looking to sell Garnacho, and could be willing to let the winger leave for around £60million, as well as his teammate Kobbie Mainoo, as the Manchester club look to comply with the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR). So, how could Chelsea's line-up look if Garnacho was added this month? football.london takes a look...
Possible Chelsea XI if Garnacho signs (and everyone is fit): Sanchez; James, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Garnacho; Jackson.
Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto are Chelsea's right wingers - Maresca has been pretty transparent about that this season. Neto, though, has often been used on the left side whenever Jadon Sancho is not playing. Maresca, ideally, would like two wingers he trusts on either side to rotate between.
He does trust Madueke and Neto, clearly given the amount of appearances each has made this season. Likewise with Sancho, but with Mudryk not available at the moment, there are not too many other options on the left wing. Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku have been used there this term but Maresca sees both attackers as No.10s.
So, Garnacho - if he was to be added - would slot in on the left-hand side, probably for Sancho to give Chelsea another dynamic in attack. An inside forward; a player that loves to cut in on his right foot, Garnacho is in many ways similar to Sancho with his strengths lying in one-on-one situations, his directness, confidence and the energy he brings to the attacking line.
The Argentine properly broke through in the United first-team in the 2022/23 season, where he scored five goals in all competitions. The following campaign saw the winger's output improve with 10 goals in 50 appearances in all competitions - his best scoring season to date.
Garnacho has scored eight for United this term, and we're only just over halfway through, meaning he is well on track to pip that this time around. However, with the winger striking 23 times in 118 appearances for the Red Devils, there is no guarantee of goals with Garnacho; something that has often been a criticism of the current crop of wingers Chelsea have at their disposal.
It might also be worth noting that Garnacho is yet to score under new manager Amorim. His only assist in that time came against Arsenal in the FA Cup win earlier this month.
Between Sancho, Madueke and Neto this season, they have scored a total of 12 goals. Sancho has two of them, Neto has three and Madueke has seven. And that is in all competitions. In comparison to the three wingers Chelsea have, Garnacho has outscored all of them this season - and that is in a United side that have massively disappointed.
Garnacho has been used on the right wing as well during his time in Manchester. However, the experiment did not really work. There was a situation last season where he and Marcus Rashford started together and it meant one of them - usually Garnacho - would be shifted to the right to make it work. Both, though, struggled on that side to make a real attacking impact.