Aston Villa have officially confirmed the signing of Alejandro Garnacho from Chelsea on an initial season-long loan, and Unai Emery is delighted with our latest acquisition.
The 22-year-old spent four years at Manchester United as he went through the youth ranks before making 144 appearances for the senior side, scoring 26 goals and providing 22 assists in those outings.
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Last summer, the next chapter in his career took him to Chelsea, where he bagged eight goals and four assists in 43 games, but he looks set for a fresh start having now officially joined Villa.
As per the club’s statement, Garnacho has joined us on a season-long loan, and although there is no mention in the statement itself, it has been widely reported that there is a conditional obligation to buy included in the agreement with Chelsea which makes it likely that he will join us permanently next summer.
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Time will tell if that eventually gets triggered and the Argentine winger signs on a permanent basis, but for now he bolsters our attacking options ahead of the new season, and there is both intrigue and excitement over what he will contribute to the team moving forward.
While some may question the move given Garnacho’s struggles for consistency at the top level and previous questions raised over his character, this was a swoop led by Emery, and based on his comments below, the Villa boss is delighted with our latest addition to his squad.
“We are delighted with Alejandro. He is so talented, young and he showed us his wish to help our project. We are really happy.”
The former Man Utd and Chelsea ace will likely be tasked with providing us with a threat down the left flank, with his technical quality, acceleration and skill-set all helping to add a new dynamic to our attack alongside the likes of Emiliano Buendia, Johan Manzambi and Alysson among others in the final third.
Although further incomings and outgoings are expected this summer as Villa rebuild the squad and evolve under Emery, Garnacho becomes our third signing of the transfer window after the arrivals of Manzambi and Joao Gomes, with all three still 25 years of age or under as we seemingly change strategy and build a long-term plan.
Importantly, Garnacho arrives having only missed one pre-season game thus far, and so it will be crucial to have him integrate and adapt in training in the next month to prepare as best as possible for the new campaign.
We need another attacking player like Rowe or better still Mbaye from PSG both youngsters bags of skill and loads of energy.
I do not detect much ‘excitement’ but rather a lot of disbelief and heartbreak that he has been signed, and it is clearly not accurate to state, that he struggled for consistency last season. He was unwaveringly bad
More goal contributions last season than some of our players in recent years. Give him a chance and get behind him (assuming you are a Villa fan?), might just turn out to be a pleasant surprise.