Alejandro Garnacho looks destined to leave Manchester United this summer, with Chelsea in pole position, but Arsenal are among the other clubs to look at the winger
Arsenal considered a move for Manchester United outcast Alejandro Garnacho before opting against a move, it has been claimed. The winger has been left out of United's pre-season tour, with Chelsea closing in on a cut-price deal, but their London rivals turned to other targets after exploring a shock deal.
The Gunners ended up turning their attentions to Noni Madueke, who joined from Chelsea in a £48millon deal. And they weren't the only ones to move on from Garnacho.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid also did due diligence with a view to potentially moving for the Argentine. Garnacho spent time in Atleti's academy as a youngster before moving to Old Trafford, and Diego Simeone's side considered bringing him back to the city of his birth.
Those teams also ultimately looked elsewhere. Spurs paid £55m to sign Mohammed Kudus from West Ham, while Atleti added both Alex Baena and Thiago Almada.
Chelsea are understood to have agreed personal terms with Garnacho, with negotiations over a fee ongoing. They have until September 1 to get a deal done, with United already dropping their asking price since the Blues' January interest.
Garnacho featured in all but two of United's Premier League matches last season, scoring six goals. He didn't start any of the final three games, though, and the writing appeared to be on the wall after he was left out of the starting line-up for the Europa League final.
"Up until the final I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don't know," he said after the defeat against Spurs. "The final will influence [my decision] but the whole season, the situation of the club. I'm going to try to enjoy the summer and see what happens afterwards."
In early August, United boss Ruben Amorim made his feelings clear when it came to Garnacho's future. "I think with Garnacho, you can understand and you can see that he's talented, he's a really talented boy,” the boss said.
"But sometimes things don't work out and you cannot explain specifically what it is. But I have the feeling – and I think it's clear - that Garnacho wants a different thing with a different leadership and I can understand that.
"So I don't think it's a problem. Sometimes you adapt to one guy and you have the connection. Other times you want a new challenge. So we try to make everything OK for all parties. To the club, to the coach and to the player. It's a natural thing in football."
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