Chelsea’s pursuit of Alejandro Garnacho could be a last-minute scramble late into the winter window – but the club have a contingency plan in place should the Blues fail to secure a Manchester United winger before the transfer deadline, according to reports.
The Argentine forward could still leave Old Trafford before February 3, when the window closes, with the club willing to sell him for the right price. Garnacho is reportedly attracting interest from several clubs, but the most prominent are Chelsea and Napoli.
The clubs are in the race for the 20-year-old, though the Serie A club has been the more proactive of the two. Sky Sports reports that while Chelsea hasn’t yet opened formal talks with United but that informal discussions began before the window even opened.
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Earlier outlets suggested Garnacho was prioritising a move to Napoli, but now it’s believed that he is leaning toward staying in the Premier League.
What attackers are Chelsea looking at?
The Daily Mail confirmed that Chelsea’s pursuit of Garnacho could drag on until the final days – even hours – of the transfer window. As such, the Blues are reportedly considering other options, though not all of them are wingers. Instead of the young United player, potential targets include Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens, Nico Williams from Athletic Club, Ipswich striker Liam Delap, and Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel, who recently changed his mind about staying with his current club.
However, Gittens, Williams, and Delap are unlikely to be available until the summer, and Tel, according to recent reports from Germany, has concerns about joining Chelsea. He feels that he may miss out on regular first-team football, just as he has been at Bayern Munich.
This leaves Chelsea with the option of looking internally for a solution. If they fail to secure a winger this month, Enzo Maresca is expected to give more playing time to 18-year-old Tyrique George, who was recently promoted to the first team.