Napoli confirm Garnacho negotiations with Man Utd

Carlo Garganese

Updated: 26 Jan 2025 08:45 GMT
4 min read

Napoli have confirmed that they are in talks with Manchester United over the potential signing of Alejandro Garnacho.

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Napoli are in the market for a replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who joined PSG last week for €75 million.

Their priority target is Garnacho, who they have been in talks with for well over a week.

However, there is a distance between Napoli and Man Utd's valuation of the player, leading the Italians to also negotiate with Borussia Dortmund's Karim Adeyemi as a backup plan for Garnacho.

Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna confirmed on Saturday evening that talks are ongoing for both players but he underlined that he would not pay over the odds for either.

"[Karim] Adeyemi and [Alejandro] Garnacho are two names that interest us, that we like," he said before Napoli's 2-1 win over Juventus.

"They are not the only ones. We will try to evaluate the opportunities. We certainly will not pay prices outside the market."

It is understood that Garnacho has reached an agreement with Napoli over personal terms. He has said yes to a contract until 2029 with the option for a further year until 2030.

There is still some way to go, though, to complete the deal as Napoli must agree a transfer fee with Man Utd.

Napoli have already had a €45m bid rejected, and there have been reports they have since increased this offer to €55m which has also been rejected.

United are understood to be demanding €65m to sell.

Chelsea are also very much in the race for Garnacho.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea have made at least two enquiries into the availability of Garnacho since the end of December and the Blues are said to be very keen on the 20-year-old.

Chelsea's interest in Garnacho was highlighted further on Monday evening during the 3-1 win over Wolves.

The owners of Garnacho's Lead3rs agency, Carlos Cambeiro and Quique de Lucas Martinez, were at Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea's clash with Wolves.

The two made no attempt to keep their presence a secret either as they shared pictures of the game on social media.

Garnacho has been unsettled at Old Trafford for some time, and has fallen out of favour under new manager Ruben Amorim.

Amorim sensationally dropped him for the Manchester Derby and, although he has returned to the fold since then, he is not an important player for the Portuguese coach.

Tottenham are also said to be watching on developments closely.

Garnacho at Man Utd

The 20-year-old Garnacho was one of the few bright lights of Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Manchester United.

© IMAGO - Garnacho (left) exploded in the previous two seasons

He was one of the breakout stars in the Premier League in 2022-23, making eight goal contributions from 10 starts and 29 appearances.

He had a string of memorable performances, including the winner against Real Sociedad in the Europa League which made him the youngest foreign player to ever score for Man Utd in European competition.

Garnacho broke a string of records, and also starred in the Manchester derby, assisting Marcus Rashford’s winner in the 2-1 victory over Man City.

Last season Garnacho continued to impress, with 10 goals in all competitions. He scored in the 2-1 FA Cup final win over Man City, hit a memorable brace in the 4-3 victory over Chelsea and scored the goal of the season with a stunning bicycle kick against Everton.

This season Garnacho has seen his star shine less bright, with just three goals and one assist in 21 Premier League games.