Chelsea agree £40m fee for Man Utds Garnacho - but why another forward?

Alejandro Garnacho is set to move to Chelsea

Chelsea have agreed a £40m fee to sign Manchester United forward Alejandro Garnacho.

The 21-year-old Argentina international was told to find a new club by head coach Ruben Amorim at the end of last season.

Sources from United say the initial Chelsea offer was £25m, but Garnachos transfer - which includes a 10% sell-on clause - will now be the clubs fourth largest ever sale after Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku and Angel di Maria.

Chelsea will have spent more than £500m, including add-on clauses, on wingers in just over three years since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought the club.

It will be more than £650m with strikers included - again with add-ons - but there have been significant player sales, with Chelsea likely to fully balance the books this summer on departures.

Garnachos move comes as forward Christopher Nkunku, 27, closes in on a move from Chelsea to AC Milan.

Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson is also in talks over an initial loan switch to Bayern Munich, which could include an obligation to buy the 24-year-old.

Player sales are important to Chelsea this summer because of Uefa sanctions, which included a fine of 31m euros (£26.7m), but also a requirement to maintain a "positive transfer balance" in this window to register new signings for the Champions League.

The imminent transfer of Nkunku for an initial £32m means the Blues will have banked at least £263.2m - minus add-ons and future fees - which is a Premier League record for player sales in a summer window.

They had already surpassed their previous highest total of £215.9m, set in 2023, prior to the confirmation of the Frenchmans departure.

Garnacho held talks with Chelsea in January when his priority became a move to Stamford Bridge and United initially wanted £60m for him.

As a homegrown player, having joined Uniteds youth system from Atletico Madrid as a 16-year-old in 2020, the fee will also be important towards meeting the Premier Leagues Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

The Old Trafford club have already spent £200m on a new forward line of Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.

Garnachos last competitive game for United was Mays Europa League final - after which he questioned Amorims decision not to start him in 1-0 defeat by Tottenham.

Although he did go on the clubs post-season tour of Asia, he was not selected for the three-match summer trip to the United States.

Garnacho was ordered to train at different times to Amorims squad, along with fellow outcasts Tyrell Malacia, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Marcus Rashford, who subsequently joined Barcelona on loan.

When asked about the players future in Chicago, boss Amorim said "sometimes things dont work out".

The signing of Garnacho is deemed important by Blues manager Enzo Maresca.

The Italian revealed at a news conference his two transfer priorities were to sign a central defender and a left-winger capable of providing competition for another summer arrival in Jamie Gittens.

However, the club only approved one of his requests, adding an attacker, and instructed Maresca to work with the existing defensive options.

Enter Garnacho, who has been a long-term target as highlighted by the public sighting of his agents, Carlos Cambeiro and Quique de Lucas, at Stamford Bridge in late January.

Despite knowing he was available, Chelsea appear to have used delaying tactics to drive down the Argentines price while working to sell Jackson, Nkunku and Tyrique George to create space in the squad.

At £40m, Garnacho is good value, and will be keen to prove he is more than just a cost-effective buy, but a difference maker in an already well-stocked Blues attack.

Garnacho has accumulated plenty of experience since his debut in April 2022 and made 144 senior appearances. He undoubtedly works hard off the ball and no United player won possession in the final third more often last term.

But he has often been accused of being wasteful in front of goal.

Garnacho has scored 27 times in his club career - a goal every 5.3 games - and reached double figures in all competitions in each of the past two seasons. He found the net six times in 36 Premier League appearances in the previous campaign, which doesnt appear a bad return for a United side that finished in 15th place.

But Garnacho attempted 84 league shots in 2024-25 and, of forward players to take more than 50, his conversion rate of 7.1% was the fourth worst. His expected goals per shot was also the fifth lowest, suggesting that when he does pull the trigger its often from an unlikely scoring position.

However, the most eye-catching statistic is Garnachos propensity to waste genuine goalscoring opportunities. He scored just two of the 16 big chances he was presented with last season - and only Southamptons Cameron Archer fared worse, converting just one of 11.

Garnachos future at United has been the subject of major conjecture from the moment he was exiled from the squad to face Manchester City last December.

Boss Amorim felt he was not paying attention to instructions when the Argentina international was about to come on late in a Europa League tie with Viktoria Plzen.

Although, unlike Rashford, Garnachos exile only lasted a single game, he didnt start again for another month. By that time, interest from Chelsea, which included a visit to Stamford Bridge from the players agents for their game against Wolves, was already apparent.

The deal did not go through, but it was close, and Garnacho was disappointed it didnt happen.

Given Amorim doesnt use wide forwards, which is where the player feels he is best, compromise was only going to last so long.

The uneasy situation erupted when Garnacho was left out of the Europa League final starting line-up, prompting a critical social media post from his brother Roberto and then a post-match interview from the player, who questioned why he had been omitted by Amorim.

The United coachs response was to tell Garnacho to find another club.

For weeks, it has been obvious who the forward wanted it to be. Now it is close to being confirmed.