Alejandro Garnacho’s career path has taken another unexpected turn. AS Roma submitted an offer to Chelsea this week for the 22-year-old winger, and the proposed structure tells you everything about where his value sits right now.
The Serie A side is offering a loan deal worth around €5 million, with an option to buy set at €35 million. But here’s the catch — that option becomes mandatory if certain performance conditions are met. Sky Sports Italia broke the news first, and it’s worth noting Roma hasn’t confirmed anything publicly yet.
Garnacho’s stock has fallen fast since his hot start at Manchester United. He came through the academy, broke into Erik ten Hag’s first team, and looked like he’d be a fixture at Old Trafford for years. Then Ruben Amorim took over in November 2024, and things went sideways. The player had shown attitude problems before, but his comments after the Europa League final apparently crossed a line. Amorim never put him back in the squad. The bomb squad treatment, as United fans called it, ended with a summer sale to Chelsea for £40 million.
That fee looked like a masterstroke for INEOS when Garnacho struggled at Stamford Bridge. Eight goals and four assists in 43 appearances across all competitions — 22 of them starts — wasn’t what Chelsea expected when they paid that kind of money. New manager Xabi Alonso has reportedly made it clear Garnacho isn’t in his plans either.
Chelsea wants €40 million to move on from the Argentine permanently. Roma is trying to bridge that gap with a loan-plus-option structure that spreads the financial risk. The Blues haven’t signaled whether they’d accept a temporary exit, but the writing seems to be on the wall.
There’s also a layer of irony here for Manchester United. The club included a 10% sell-on clause when they sold Garnacho to Chelsea. So if Roma does buy him for €35 million, United pockets €3.5 million. Not nothing, but also not the kind of money that makes you regret moving on from a guy who scored 11 goals in a United shirt two seasons ago.
Roma is also eyeing Crysencio Summerville from West Ham, who United has reportedly scouted. His agents are already in Rome working out a separate deal, which could complicate or accelerate things depending on how you look at it.
Garnacho is 22. He’s clearly talented. But he’s now on his third club in three years if this deal goes through, and Serie A might be the reset he needs. Or it might be another chapter in a career that peaked early. Either way, Roma’s offer is on the table, and Chelsea’s answer will tell us a lot about how this story ends.
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