Garnacho tells Man Utd: Sell me to Napoli, NOT Chelsea

Carlo Garganese

Updated: 22 Jan 2025 11:52 GMT
4 min read

Alejandro Garnacho only wants to join Napoli in January, which is the reason why Man Utd have reduced their asking price for him.

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The Italian media report that Garnacho's representatives have made it clear to Man Utd that their player strongly wants to join Napoli - and doesn't want Chelsea.

As a result, Sky Sport and Sportitalia reports that Man Utd realise that a sale to Chelsea will be very difficult.

This is the reason they have dropped their asking price from €80 million to €60m, a price that Napoli can afford.

Napoli already have an agreement over a five-year deal for the player, who is set to double his salary and is pushing to join the Italian club.

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

Garnacho would be a replacement at Napoli for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who joined PSG last week for €75m.

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.

But if the Italian media are correct, then Chelsea's chances of signing Garnacho are slim due to the desires of the player and his representatives.

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.

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.