The 21-year-old swapped Old Trafford for Stamford Bridge for a reported fee of £40 million after a summer as a member of Man United’s ‘bomb squad’, with fans of both clubs divided about whether it was a good move or not.
It wasn’t necessarily the fee that posed a risk to Chelsea, in all honesty, it was a pretty good deal for a 21-year-old winger with bags of Premier League experience and a load of potential, it was Garnacho’s perceived image as a ‘troublemaker’ that made headlines.
Since then, he’s kept his head down, worked hard, and it’s starting to look like Chelsea got the better end of the stick.
A big fallout with Ruben Amorim
Time for a little background. As Man United prepared for their Europa League final clash with Tottenham, Amorim told Garnacho that he wouldn’t start, despite playing a key role in every round up until that point.
United would go on to lose 1-0, with Garnacho coming off the bench for the final 20 minutes. The winger would then publicly call Amorim out for not starting him while also alluding to the fact he was looking to leave the club in the summer.
That wasn’t the only time he irked Amorim. Some of his social media antics, and a brother who has no qualms calling Man United out when he believes Alejandro has been slighted continued to rub the Portuguese manager the wrong way.
From slow start to a breakout vs Liverpool
Garnacho’s lack of a pre-season meant he was playing catch up with the rest of his new Chelsea teammates at the start of the campaign. Enzo Maresca didn’t hand him his first start until their League Cup game with Lincoln, in which he was good if unremarkable.
His first Premier League start for Chelsea came in their dramatic 2-1 win over Liverpool. Throughout the game, Garnacho was their main attacking outlet as Maresca’s side targeted the opposition’s right side, isolating right-backs Conor Bradley in the first half and Dominik Szoboszlai in the second.
That game was the one that really brought Garnacho to Maresca’s attention, and he has been the manager’s first choice left winger since, with fellow summer signing Jamie Gittens playing in cup games and easier Champions League fixtures.
Garnacho now has two goals in his six starts across all competitions for Chelsea, although neither of those strikes have contributed to a win. Perhaps most notably, Maresca called on the winger to help salvage a point in the 2-2 draw with Qarabag, bringing him on for Gittens at half time.
He, of course, scored the goal that rescued Chelsea from abject humiliation. His manager clearly has faith in Garnacho’s ability to make a difference.
What is Maresca saying about Garnacho?
Maresca is doing his best to nurture his new winger, Garnacho is the type of player that needs to know how valued and loved he is but throwing him in at the deep end with no pre-season under his belt would have been irresponsible.
The Italian said as much ahead of their League Cup win over Wolves: “Garna is doing well.
“Garna is another player who we are trying to manage him a little bit physically, because he arrived here from United not 100% in his physical condition.
“He is working hard every day, he is getting better and better, and in this moment, we are happy with the way he is playing.”
The frustration over dropping points at Qarabag didn’t stop Maresca from praising the young lad that rescued them either, saying after the game: "Now, when you don't win, I can understand that it's always, but I think Garnacho, he has done well in the second half. We gave him the chance. He's slowly, slowly improving."
Verdict
Rightly or wrongly, Garnacho’s bad boy persona has earned him a lot of flak from fans and pundits alike, but so far at Chelsea, he’s doing all his talking on the pitch. If he keeps that up, the West Londoners may have a genuine world beater on their hands.