Alejandro Garnacho's loan move to Aston Villa has left Manchester United and Chelsea without an easy path to a summer payday, as neither club included key escape clauses in the deal. The winger joined Villa in the summer with an obligation to buy, subject to conditions that were expected to be straightforward, but his spell has started poorly.
The 22-year-old has yet to start a game for Villa and has played just 30 minutes across the opening three Premier League matches of the season. He has otherwise remained on the bench, suggesting Villa are in no rush to trigger the £43m fee that would go to Chelsea.
Slow start at Villa
Garnacho joined Chelsea for £40m last year but struggled to establish himself, recording eight goals in 43 appearances in his debut campaign. Following the arrival of Xavi Alonso, Chelsea were happy to move on from the winger and hoped to make a modest profit at the end of this season. That would also see Manchester United cash in through a 10 per cent sell-on clause included in the deal that took Garnacho to Stamford Bridge.
However, Chelsea may need to find a new deal in the summer or see him stuck in west London. According to The Telegraph, the Blues do not have a January recall clause in the loan agreement, making it difficult to find a more likely permanent solution until the summer. Villa also did not include an early exit clause to escape their own obligations.
No easy solution in January
Instead, both sides would have to agree to cut Garnacho's loan short in the January transfer window if they want to find another solution. Villa boss Unai Emery has said Garnacho must work hard to move up the pecking order in the Midlands.
"Continue working. Work, work, train, work," Emery said. "When he can have minutes to play, try to play well. He is progressing, but we have players in front of him now. George [Hemmings] is playing fantastic. Alysson is also understanding things well and is giving us things I want. (Ibrahim) Mbaye also responded well."
"We want a competitive team and players to compete in the style we have. Garnacho is a little bit behind because of some circumstances we had in pre-season. It is time to be patient for the time he needs."
