According to The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell and Liam Twomey, 22-year-old Argentine winger Alejandro Garnacho has struggled to secure consistent playing time since joining Aston Villa, making just three substitute appearances in the Premier League this season for a total of 31 minutes. Despite the slow start, there is still belief within Villa that he can gradually rediscover his form, and manager Unai Emery has not given up on the young player.

During the recent international break, Garnacho scored in two consecutive friendly matches. Villa first defeated Southampton 1-0 in a behind-closed-doors game, then beat Sevilla 3-1 away. Garnacho wrote on social media: "Ready now."

However, it remains to be seen whether this statement will truly signal a fresh start for Garnacho's career. Club sources indicate that Garnacho has indeed made some progress recently, but this assessment is primarily relative to his condition before the international break. At that time, his physical fitness was notably lacking, he lacked confidence, and some off-field issues since his summer move from Chelsea had also affected him.

This summer, Villa had hoped to sign at least one winger, but the decision to ultimately choose Garnacho surprised many observers, including some staff within the club. However, Emery has always greatly admired Garnacho, advocating for his signing from Manchester United as early as last summer. At that time, Garnacho ultimately chose Chelsea, where he had the opportunity to play in the Champions League.

This summer, Roma also showed interest in Garnacho, and multiple sources, including insiders at Villa, at one point believed he would end up playing in Italy. Meanwhile, Villa was also pursuing Paris Saint-Germain forward Ibrahim Mbayé, who eventually joined the team.

Nevertheless, Emery continued to push for Garnacho's transfer. Insiders revealed that agent Jorge Mendes played a significant role. Although Mendes is not Garnacho's primary agent, he participated in negotiations as an intermediary and actively facilitated the transfer. He had previously played a role in several Villa signings, including Mbayé's arrival.

As Chelsea had previously made Garnacho's asking price clear to potential buyers, Villa had a relatively clear understanding of the deal's terms. Ultimately, the two sides agreed to a loan deal with a conditional mandatory purchase option, triggered by the player's appearances. As The Athletic previously disclosed, the total value of the deal, including the loan fee, could reach up to £42.5 million.

Sources at Chelsea believe that the appearance threshold required to trigger the purchase option is "easily achievable," a sentiment recently echoed by Villa. Although the specific number of appearances remains undisclosed, multiple sources indicate that this condition is easier to trigger than the purchase option threshold for Harvey Elliott's loan to Villa last season. At that time, Elliott only needed to make 10 Premier League appearances to trigger a £35 million mandatory purchase option.

Garnacho's loan contract does not include an early recall clause. Although some observers suspect Villa might try to move him on in January, comparing his situation to Elliott's, the club currently still hopes the signing will be successful. Villa will only begin to consider other solutions if Emery completely loses confidence in Garnacho.

Emery views Garnacho as a long-term development project, provided the player can accept and adapt to his coaching methods. As Garnacho was not guaranteed a starting spot upon joining, Emery is willing to give him more patience. Currently, captain John McGinn remains the first-choice left winger, and even with Garnacho's signing, Villa's top winger target this summer remained Mbayé.

Two Villa sources said they would be very surprised if Garnacho did not officially become a Villa player after the end of this season. Club staff had also previously received information suggesting that the loan deal was very likely to convert into a permanent transfer.

Compared to Elliott's situation last season, Garnacho's problems are not yet as severe. At that time, Villa quickly realized they were unwilling to pay Elliott's mandatory purchase option fee and subsequently asked Liverpool if the purchase option's trigger threshold could be raised, as Emery still wanted to use the player but was unwilling to pay the transfer fee. After the season, Emery described Elliott's situation as "embarrassing" and apologized to the player.

Villa does not want Garnacho's situation to repeat Elliott's previous experience, nor do they want the player's future to become a constant topic of discussion, as was the case when they loaned Marcus Rashford from Manchester United two years ago. However, given Garnacho's profile and his current lack of playing time, external scrutiny remains unavoidable.

In fact, Garnacho had originally decided to leave England. Previously, his career had stalled, and his personal life had undergone some changes, including his son's mother leaving the UK. Ultimately, Emery's persuasion changed his mind, leading him to decide to remain in the Premier League.

Emery himself played a leading role in bringing Garnacho to the club. While some of the player's previous statistics supported the signing, unlike Mbayé, who received unanimous approval from all club departments, Garnacho's arrival was more due to the manager's personal insistence.

The good relationship between Villa and Chelsea also facilitated the deal. The cooperation between the two clubs started at the top level and has led to multiple player transfers in recent years. This summer, they first agreed on a British record transfer fee for Morgan Rogers, and then finalized the loan transfer of Nicolas Jackson at the end of the transfer window. A rare point of friction occurred when Chelsea appointed Villa's set-piece coach Austin MacPhee, with Chelsea paying the buyout clause for his remaining two-year contract.

As early as the summer of 2024, Ian Maatsen joined Villa from Chelsea for £37.5 million, while academy player Omari Kellyman moved to Chelsea for £19 million. The Premier League had then asked both clubs to explain Maatsen's transfer fee, eventually approving the deal.

Some Villa fans were initially surprised and even somewhat disappointed by Garnacho's arrival, but most were still willing to trust Emery's judgment. Meanwhile, external evaluations of Garnacho are not entirely positive. Although he possesses outstanding talent, he has consistently lacked consistency. Issues in his personal life, public displays of frustration when not playing, and strong statements from his brother Roberto on social media have kept him in the public eye for some time.

Insiders at Villa believe that some public perceptions of Garnacho are biased and hope that fans will give him a chance to start fresh. Over the past few months, as Garnacho has consistently been on the bench, there has also been internal dissatisfaction at the club regarding some media coverage surrounding him.

Garnacho's initial training performances after joining were not ideal. The first impression within Villa was that he lacked confidence and his physical fitness was clearly insufficient. Previously at Chelsea, seeking a departure, he did not participate in the team's pre-season preparations and trained alone.

A similar situation occurred a year ago. At that time, Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim informed Garnacho in a team meeting that he should start looking for a new club. In addition to not fitting Amorim's tactical plans, Garnacho's frustration when left out of match squads also caused the coach to gradually lose patience.

Two consecutive summers of setbacks affected the confidence of a player once considered one of Europe's most promising young attackers. After joining Villa, he also failed to quickly regain his form. During a pre-season tour match in Asia, Garnacho suffered a concussion, causing him to miss the team's European Super Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain.

Poor physical condition also affected Garnacho's performance in training and warm-up matches, making it difficult for him to immediately adapt to Emery's strict demands for training intensity and tactical execution. In fact, even experienced players need time to adapt to this process. Leon Goretzka, who joined Villa in August, was also surprised by Emery's high-intensity training and suffered a knee injury in his first week at the club.

Garnacho also carries significant psychological pressure; in the past, he could sometimes be quite withdrawn and maintain a certain distance from his teammates. For young, high-profile players, complex personal lives and changes in professional environments can affect their performance. John Durán, who previously played for Villa, faced similar issues.

Emery is very demanding of new signings in terms of training attitude and performance, and he does not hesitate to keep players on the bench if they do not show the required level of commitment. Tammy Abraham, who joined in January, is one such example. Villa had pursued the striker for nearly a month, but when his training performance and commitment did not meet expectations, Emery still chose to keep him on the bench.

Garnacho has consistently been on the fringes of Villa's squad this season. He has only made three substitute appearances in the Premier League, totaling 31 minutes. In the League Cup away match against Coventry, he did not feature and quickly returned to the team bus after the match.

Emery later admitted in a press conference that Garnacho is currently behind 19-year-old academy player George Hemmings, 20-year-old winger Alisson, and Mbayé in the pecking order. Days later, when Villa defeated Tottenham Hotspur 3-2, Garnacho might not even have made the bench if Alisson had not been injured.

Currently, Garnacho's emotional state remains quite sensitive. The coming weeks until the November international break will be a crucial period to observe whether he can truly turn his situation around.

Villa still hopes to keep Garnacho long-term and believes he is making progress. However, whether this progress can translate into performances in official matches and whether he can truly earn Emery's trust will ultimately need to be proven on the pitch.

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