Garnacho absent from Chelsea training as exit talks continue
According to football.londonthe winger has yet to report for training as the club works through the details of an expected exit.
The writing has been on the wall for a while. Garnacho made Argentina’s preliminary 55-man World Cup list but didn’t survive the final cut, missing the pre-tournament camp entirely and extending an international absence stretching back to November 2024 — before his £40m switch from Manchester United to Chelsea last summer even happened.
Chelsea now believe they’re close to getting a sale over the line, with a €50m (£42m) valuation attached to a player attracting interest from across the Premier League, continental Europe and Saudi Arabia. Their preference is firmly for a permanent deal rather than a loan, a stance that lines up conveniently with what appears to be strong demand for wingers this summer.
AS Roma’s interest has cooled the talks rather than accelerated them — early discussions made clear the Italian club only wanted Garnacho on loan initially, terms Chelsea have so far refused to entertain, even with the player himself said to favour a move to Serie A. Atletico Madrid, Como and Napoli have also registered interest, and a switch to the Saudi Pro League remains on the table too.
There’s a neat symmetry to a potential Atletico move: Garnacho was born in Madrid and came through Getafe’s academy before Atletico let him leave for Manchester United in 2020, meaning six years later a return to his home city would carry real emotional weight alongside the football logic. United, for their part, retain a 10 percent sell-on clause from that original transfer — one that could now be triggered far sooner than anyone at Old Trafford might have anticipated.
Whether Chelsea recover their outlay is less certain; suggestions are they want £43m to sanction any deal, a figure some of the interested parties have yet to match, with head coach Xabi Alonso already appearing to plan for a squad without him this season.
