How Chelsea are preparing Alejandro Garnacho for Manchester United return

Man Utd play Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday and Alejandro Garnacho will make his return to Old Trafford.

Enzo Maresca will sit down for a chat with Alejandro Garnacho to determine whether he is mentally ready to play against Manchester United.

Garnacho completed a £40million transfer to Chelsea in the last week of the summer transfer window.

United included a 10 per cent sell-on clause in the deal, with Garnacho becoming the fourth-highest sale in the club’s history, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku and Angel Di Maria.

Garnacho is a United academy graduate and scored in the 2024 FA Cup final, but the circumstances that led to his exit to Chelsea have left a sour taste in the mouths of some supporters.

The 21-year-old’s relationship with Ruben Amorim gradually broke down last season. There were concerns with Garnacho’s discipline throughout his time at the club and his social media activity irked fans.

That means Garnacho could be booed when he returns to Old Trafford on Saturday evening.

“Probably it is something that we have to think about,” said Maresca when asked about the narrative surrounding Garnacho’s return to Old Trafford.

“First of all, because he is young, so you don’t know how he can react. But also in case we decide to start with him, I will have a chat with him to ask also how he feels about that.”

Maresca was unsure whether returning to a former club shortly after leaving could fuel a positive performance.

He said: “It can be in both ways. It can be in both ways, but I think we have also another similar case, like Jadon [Sancho] last year, that for different reasons struggled.

“Then he joined us for one season, it was good, he helped us to achieve our target. Overall, I think Jadon had a good season with us and hopefully Ale’ Garnacho can have the same.”

After signing for Chelsea, Garnacho penned an emotional goodbye to United fans on Instagram, saying: “Dear Manchester. After an unforgettable five years, this special chapter in my life now comes to a close. We have created moments that will stay with me forever, and I’m very grateful for this.

“To the coaches, staff, and my teammates, thank you for believing in me. Every time I wore the badge, I gave everything I had.

“I leave proud of what we achieved together and excited for what’s to come. Wishing the club nothing but success for the future, while I look forward to giving my all in the next chapter of my career.”

United completed the signing of Garnacho on a free transfer from Atletico Madrid in September 2020 and after progressing in the academy and winning the FA Youth Cup the youngster became an established part of the first-team squad.

Garnacho left United having scored 26 goals in 144 senior appearances.

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