Alejandro Garnacho was in the stands at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to watch his soon-to-be Chelsea team-mates face Fulham — with his £40million move from Manchester United close to completion.
The 21-year-old winger has agreed a seven-year contract with the Blues after passing a medical on Friday. United have inserted a 10 per cent sell-on clause in the sale agreement.
The fee makes Garnacho the most expensive academy graduate sale in United’s history, eclipsing the £24.5m received for David Beckham in 2003 — while Danny Welbeck’s £16m move to Arsenal in 2014 now looks relatively modest.
Although he was not officially unveiled before kick-off, Chelsea are expected to confirm the transfer imminently.
Garnacho joined United’s youth set-up from Atletico Madrid in October 2020 and went on to make 144 senior appearances, scoring 26 goals and providing 22 assists. He lifted the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024, but fell out of favour under Ruben Amorim towards the end of last season.
Amorim told Garnacho at the end of the campaign that he was free to find a new club. The winger did not feature in pre-season and trained separately as part of the so-called ‘bomb squad’.
Garnacho, 21, watched Chelsea vs Fulham from the stands at Stamford Bridge on Saturday
The winger waved goodbye to Manchester United fans at Old Trafford at the end of last season
Garnacho also publicly expressed his frustration after being introduced only late in United’s Europa League final defeat to Tottenham in May, a moment which appeared to accelerate his exit.
Chelsea beat off competition to secure his signature after weeks of haggling over the fee. The Blues initially offered £25m, but talks eventually settled at £40m plus the sell-on percentage.
Garnacho is expected to compete with fellow summer signing Jamie Gittens for a place on the left wing in Enzo Maresca’s squad. He joins a raft of new arrivals at Stamford Bridge, including Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Jorrel Hato and Brazilian teenager Estevao.
The winger’s first appearance at Stamford Bridge came just 24 hours after he was spotted with freshly bleached hair in a TikTok video, with fans quick to note he was preparing for a ‘new chapter’.
