Alejandro Garnacho’s Aston Villa struggles: Transfer doubts, Emery warning signs and how he can win over his manager

Surely Aston Villa are not about to make the same mistake twice. The club spent an entire season covering the sizeable wages of a loan player they never intended to keep. Would they really allow that situation to happen again?

When people assess Alejandro Garnacho’s difficult start at Villa Park, Harvey Elliott is the comparison that immediately comes to mind. The arrangements are similar — a loan deal containing a conditional obligation to buy — while both players have found regular first-team football hard to come by.

By last autumn, Unai Emery had decided he did not want Aston Villa to sign Elliott permanently. Under the terms of his loan agreement, the midfielder made only nine appearances during the campaign before returning to Liverpool.

At the equivalent stage of Elliott’s Villa spell, he had played 118 minutes, despite arriving only at the end of the summer 2025 transfer window. Garnacho joined Villa Park with expectations high, yet he has managed just 31 minutes so far.

The proposed £43 million transfer next summer, included in the loan agreement with Chelsea and dependent on certain targets being met, already appears increasingly unlikely.

There is still time for Garnacho to change the narrative. Aston Villa will play two friendlies during the international break, including a meeting with Sevilla in Spain on October 2. The Argentina winger must throw himself fully into the training camp, because the remainder of his Villa career could depend on what happens next.

Why Garnacho?

Shortly after the final whistle of Aston Villa’s 3-1 victory at Coventry on September 16, Garnacho was making his way out of the CBS Arena towards the Villa team bus. With Emery rotating his side for the Carabao Cup tie, many expected the winger to start. Instead, he did not even get onto the pitch.

The decision would have frustrated any player, particularly one who had already made almost 200 senior appearances and won eight caps for Argentina before turning 23. It is understood, however, that there were no mandatory post-match exercises because the squad was scheduled to train the next morning.

Even so, consistent commitment is usually the surest way into Emery’s plans. The Aston Villa manager expects his players to be ‘serious, mature, responsible’ professionals.

Emery may not be standing on the touchline after matches, but very little escapes his attention.

His coaching staff will report back on everything that happened during the post-match running drills: which exercises were completed, who pushed themselves, and whether anyone failed to give the required effort.

Garnacho was again left on the bench at Tottenham three days later. Had Brazilian winger Alysson been fit, the Manchester United loanee may not even have been included in the squad.

The reasons for Aston Villa’s interest in Garnacho are clear. Although he struggled during his time at Chelsea last season, he scored 21 goals and supplied 17 assists for Manchester United between 2023 and 2025. Emery has been searching for a direct, game-changing wide attacker since arriving at Villa, and Garnacho appeared to fit that profile.

But an important question continues to linger: was Emery genuinely determined to sign Garnacho, as he had been when pursuing Morgan Rogers in January 2024, Marco Asensio on loan a year later or Nicolas Jackson this summer?

If Emery was truly desperate to bring Garnacho to Villa Park, it would be surprising that he subsequently elevated academy prospect George Hemmings above him and approved the £50 million deal for Ibrahim Mbaye, a player capable of operating on either flank. His early-season support for Alysson adds to the uncertainty.

Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris and Chelsea counterpart Behdad Eghbali are also thought to enjoy good relations though Emery laughed off suggestions last month that the two clubs, both on the naughty step with UEFA for breaching financial rules, would ever help each other. 

‘They want to kill us, and we want to kill them,’ he said. ‘They signed Morgan and Emiliano Martinez to kill us.’

The facts are these: Garnacho joined Villa from Chelsea on July 23, two days after Rogers had moved in the opposite direction for a record £117m. Chelsea and Villa traded four players this summer alone, with Martinez moving to Stamford Bridge along with Rogers, and Jackson joining Garnacho in the West Midlands. Set-piece coach Austin MacPhee swapped Villa for Chelsea, too.

Clubs can deal with one another as they see fit but unless Garnacho starts to play regularly, we will always wonder about the exact circumstances that led him to Villa. 

Can Garnacho turn it around?

After Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, Garnacho is the third player to lose his way at United and turn up at Villa on loan not long afterwards.

The spell at Villa Park in the second half of 2024-25 revived Rashford’s career. Though he could not help Villa qualify for the Champions League, he did enough under Emery to earn a year’s loan at Barcelona and make the England squad for the World Cup. Rashford is now playing for United again, which seemed impossible only a year ago.

On the flipside, Sancho started only nine Premier League games for Villa and is now without a club after leaving Old Trafford last summer. Reports in Russia this week said the 26-year-old was in discussions with top-flight club Krasnodar. Emery had really wanted Rashford; Sancho not so much.

Whose path will Garnacho follow? Playing for Emery can be exhausting but there are still relatively painless ways to impress him. 

Lucas Digne, for example, won his boss over partly by turning up for extra sessions on his days off. ‘Continue working,’ said Emery when asked how Garnacho can force his way into the team. ‘Work, work, train, work.’

There is another simple rule with Emery: a player can catch the eye as much he likes on the ball but if he does not follow instructions when Villa do not have possession, he will not play very often. 

Emery has already ticked off Garnacho for dawdling on the touchline when preparing to come on and has admitted Garnacho could have done better in his early appearances. These are not good signs.

Listening actively in meetings, both individual and collective, is also key. Emery will explain in painstaking detail what he wants from a player. If he does not deliver it, woe betide him. 

Emery will not tailor his approach to young people with short attention spans. It’s his immersive way – repetitive training sessions, 90-minute video briefings, detailed tactical breakdowns – or nothing. With 12 major trophies to his name, why should he change?

After significant turnover this summer, Emery is relying even more on a cohort of senior players who have been at Villa throughout his time – John McGinn, Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia. They emphasise to new signings exactly what is needed to succeed at the club.

The smart ones listen and learn. There is no suggestion that Garnacho, a shy, quiet individual, is disruptive but clearly he is not doing enough to convince Emery and right now few at Bodymoor Heath can see a path to regular first-team football. 

There is mitigation: Garnacho suffered a nasty facial injury during a pre-season fixture against Thai club BG Pathum United, which slowed his progress and meant he did not feature in the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain. Playing on the wing for Emery is also the most tactically demanding role on the pitch and very few master it immediately.

Daily Mail Sport understands Garnacho scored the only goal in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Southampton yesterday. That won’t do his cause any harm.

Garnacho’s career is still in his own hands – though Sancho’s tale should be fresh in his mind.

How does the story end?

Watch Garnacho’s first interview at Villa and you will see a player who has lost his way and is fighting to regain it.

‘We are delighted with Alejandro,’ said Emery at the time. ‘He is so talented, young and he showed us his wish to help our project. We are really happy.’

Emery has seen what Garnacho can do. Cash was one of Villa’s best players last season yet when Chelsea hammered them 4-1 at Villa Park, Garnacho gave the right back a chasing. It was a reminder of what he offered during his best spells at United.

‘I was looking for a club to get confidence and to try to be the player I was in my first years at United,’ said Garnacho on the day he joined Villa. ‘I spoke with the manager and I think he will give me the confidence to be here and to help the team.’ Emery and Garnacho were filmed embracing during the video.

Since he crossed swords with former United boss Ruben Amorim, there has been far more focus on Garnacho’s mistakes than his talent – and this is partly his fault. He still has immense raw ability and Emery is exactly the type of coach who can unlock it, as long as they can find a common understanding.

Time is already running out. Daily Mail Sport revealed on September 21 that La Liga clubs are already following the situation, should the loan be cancelled in January. If that happens, it would feel like a huge missed opportunity, for Villa, Emery and most of all Garnacho himself. The ball is in his court.