Alejandro Garnacho's transfer preference emerges as Premier League swap deal proposed

Alejandro Garnacho is keen on a move to Chelsea this summer, opening the door to a potential eye-catching swap deal with Christopher Nkunku. Manchester United are keen to sell Garnacho in the summer transfer window and Chelsea appear to be the most likely destination.

Garnacho knows he is not in Ruben Amorim’s plans for the 2025/26 campaign, despite returning 11 goals and 10 assists in 58 games last season. United will listen to offers for any of their players this summer and the 20-year-old winger could be their most valuable asset as Amorim plots a rebuild.

He attracted interest from Chelsea and Napoli in the January transfer window and the direction of travel was made obvious by the events last month. Garnacho reacted furiously to being left on the bench for the Europa League final and was left out of the squad for United’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa on the final day of the season.

It emerged on Monday that Chelsea and United were considering a swap deal involving Garnacho and Nkunku. No direct talks have yet been held, but with both clubs keen to offload the attackers it could be a fruitful avenue.

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The Athletic reports that Garnacho would be open to joining Chelsea because he wants to stay in the Premier League and would favour a move to London this summer. The Blues are closing in on the signing of Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens in a deal which could impact a move for Garnacho.

Chelsea have already signed Liam Delap from Ipswich for £30m and decided against signing Jadon Sancho permanently from United. As well as Nkunku, there are doubts surrounding the future of Noni Madueke, who is of interest to Arsenal, while Mykhailo Mudryk remains unavailable amid a doping probe.

Despite all the speculation, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca says Nkunku is focused on playing for the team at the Club World Cup. "Christo is with us,” he said, before suggesting he could feature in their final Club World Cup group stage game against ES Tunis.

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“He's our player. He's doing very well in the last four, five days. For sure, tomorrow we are going to do rotation. We'll see if there is any chance for the ones that are not playing a lot."

Garnacho caused a stir over the weekend by posting a photo of himself wearing an Aston Villa shirt with Marcus Rashford ’s name on the back. He appeared to be simply showing support for his friend, who finds himself in a similar situation, looking for a move away from United this summer.

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