Garnacho's bad 'attitude' is dismantled by Shay Given

Alejandro Garnacho was unexpectedly targeted by Shay Given on Tuesday evening for 'rubbing people the wrong way' amid his promising start at Chelsea.

The former Manchester United academy made the move south in a £40million deal after the Argentina international endured an acrimonious falling out with head coach Ruben Amorim.

Amorim is thought to have been frustrated at Garnacho hitting out at United's 's***' season after the Europa League final, with the Argentine in turn concerned about his repeated stints on the bench.

Since moving to Chelsea, Garnacho has been used more frequently by new manager Enzo Maresca, and rewarded the club in turn with some bright performances and four goal contributions across his 11 outings in blue.

But ahead of his meeting Barcelona in Champions League action on Tuesday night as a member of the starting XI, Given was unwilling to see Garnacho as an entirely reformed character.

'I think he rubs a lot of people up the wrong way, including myself,' Given said on punditry duty for Premier Sports. 'And this is probably me being a dinosaur, the way he's turned up to one side and a chain hanging out, his attitude.'

'His attitude when he gets taken off, he's throwing his jumper, he's kicking water bottles. He's a young player, he has to get his knuckle down, and focus on his career.'

'You see (Barcelona's Robert) Lewandowski heading off the bus tonight, he's got no headphones, he's got no mad hats on, he's professional, he's getting ready for the game.'

Garnacho was not alone in having accessorised his training kit as he arrived at Stamford Bridge, with Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Raphina also turning up in sunglasses and their own hats, but attracting no criticism from the former Republic of Ireland international.

The 21-year-old wore a Chrome Hearts baseball cap and what appeared to be a Catholic rosary as he made his way into the ground, before impressing in what Daily Mail Sport deemed a seven out of 10 performance in the 3-0 win - while Lewandowski received a four by the same metric in the Spanish press and was dubbed 'absent'.

'I go back to Bobby Robson stuff,' Given continued. You weren't allowed to wear trainers with a suit, you weren't allowed to wear hats, headphones,

'That's me being a dinosaur,' Given admitted. 'People probably at home saying, "get a grip Shay", but at the same time you've got to buy into what the team wants.

'And going back to him at Man United, he wasn't a team player. It was about him. And he didn't play as much as he wanted.

'Even at Chelsea, he's been taken off this season, and I don't like the way he reacts. you can be disappointed, but at the same time, you don't throw the toys out of the pram.'

Garnacho notoriously stormed off down the tunnel last season after being swapped out by Amorim against Ipswich.

The player later apologised for his behaviour to his manager and bought the squad dinner to make up for his petulant turn.

But the instinct to lash out after being substituted, although reduced, has not entirely left Garnacho, who appeared frustrated after he was taken off during Chelsea's derby clash against Tottenham.

On Tuesday night however, there were no signs of a struggle as Garnacho was traded for Liam Delap just shy of the hour mark, with the Argentine starlet was given a standing ovation by the Stamford Bridge faithful.

For Maresca's part, he has been impressed with the young star's attitude in both training and on the pitch.

'He arrived here from another club where he was not training 100 per cent, so his physical condition was not good,' Maresca said after Garnacho bagged a brace of assists against Wolves at the start of the month.

'Slowly, slowly (we have worked on that) and now it’s better.

'He is doing very well on the ball and is doing well off the ball. He knows that, to play with us, he has to be good on the ball and off the ball. We are very happy with him in this moment.’