Manchester United have agreed to sell Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea for £40m plus a 10% sell-on fee.
The 21-year-old Argentina international has been training away from the first-team squad since the start of the summer after a breakdown in his relationship with Ruben Amorim, the head coach. It is understood Chelsea offered an initial £25m before the final fixed fee was agreed.
It will be United’s highest-value player sale for five years and the club’s fourth-highest-value sale ever. Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku and Angel Di María have left United for a higher price. Due to the winger’s wish to leave, United view the deal as a positive step. Garnacho scored 26 goals in 144 appearances for United after joining the academy setup from Atlético Madrid in 2020 for around £400,000.
While Garnacho is heading to Stamford Bridge, Christopher Nkunku is moving away, with Milan poised to sign the forward for a package worth €42m (£36.2m). The deal contains a sell-on clause for the France international, who has agreed personal terms with the Serie A club.
Chelsea are also interested in Barcelona’s Fermín López and RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons. Tottenham, however, have held talks with Leipzig over Simons, who flew to London on Wednesday, and are primed to make a bid. Spurs are determined to sign a No 10 after failing with moves for Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze – and with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski out with long-term injuries. They hope to close a deal for Simons, who Leipzig are keen to sell as they restructure their squad.
Leipzig value Simons at €70m (£60.5m), although they may accept a little less because time is tight before Monday’s deadline and they want to push ahead with a bid for Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott. He remains close to Jürgen Klopp, the former Liverpool manager, who is the head of football at Red Bull.
Havertz has minor surgery
Kai Havertz has had minor surgery to fix a wear-and-tear-related issue in his knee. The Arsenal forward played in his club’s opening game at Manchester United and reported pain after it, at which point it was decided he had to rest or have surgery. The latter course of action has been chosen.
The initial signs were that the problem was not serious, rather a natural consequence of playing so many minutes at the highest level for almost a decade. The 26-year-old broke through at Bayern Leverkusen in 2016-17.
Havertz sustained his first major injury setback last February when he damaged a hamstring and was out for three months. His absence this time is not expected to be long term. An Arsenal statement read: “Today, Kai underwent a successful minor surgical procedure. He will shortly begin his recovery and rehabilitation programme, with everyone fully focused on supporting Kai to ensure he is back to full fitness as soon as possible.” David Hytner
Spurs had a conversation about Simons earlier in the summer but at the time his representatives indicated that if he left Leipzig he would only want to join Chelsea, who had made inquiries. It is understood Chelsea wanted to include one of their players in any move for Simons but this did not appeal to Leipzig, with most of them too expensive in terms of wages.
Leipzig have sought to cap the basic annual salaries of their new signings at €5m, albeit they can earn more via performance-related add-ons. Simons is the club’s top earner on a basic €11m a year.
Leipzig were one of the teams pushing for Nkunku, who left the Bundesliga side for £52m in 2023. The 27-year-old has struggled for form and fitness at Chelsea. He picked up a knee injury during his first pre-season and was unable to build momentum. He had a bit-part role under Enzo Maresca last season, although he made contributions to Chelsea winning the Club World Cup this summer.
Bayern Munich held talks over Nkunku but were interested only in a loan. Chelsea wanted a permanent sale.
Chelsea’s position is slightly different on Nicolas Jackson, who may be allowed to go on loan if the deal contains an obligation to buy. Bayern, Aston Villa, Napoli, Juventus and Newcastle are tracking the 24-year-old striker.
Chelsea are prepared to wait to see how the Alexander Isak situation plays out at Newcastle before committing to a final decision on Jackson, who is likely to be reintegrated in Maresca’s squad if he stays.
Roma, Leipzig and a host of English sides are monitoring the 19-year-old winger Tyrique George.
