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Alejandro Garnacho was told by Aston Villa manager Unai Emery this week that he is “behind” and needs to “work” for his playing time. The problem is that several others have moved ahead of the on-loan winger in the Villa depth chart and his career has awkwardly stalled.
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The 2024 Puskás Award winner has fallen a long way in a relatively short space of time.
Garnacho is trying to rebuild at Villa Park, having left Manchester United in 2025 for Chelsea, where he failed to impress for the Blues. The Argentina international made 43 appearances in total but started only 14 times in the Premier League. Half of his eight goals came in the Carabao Cup. He eventually missed the cut for the 2026 World Cup after not being called up in almost two years.
Unai Emery has tried this project before and didn’t get the results, taking Jadon Sancho on loan last season. The Spanish manager couldn’t reverse Sancho’s fortunes and Villa passed on a free transfer. He remains without a club at the age of 26, when his career ought to be peaking.
If Garnacho doesn’t want to head the same way, Emery said on Wednesday night after Villa’s Carabao Cup win against Coventry City he needs to “work, work, train, work.”
Garnacho Drops Down Aston Villa Depth Chart
Even with significant rotation from Emery, Garnacho was left on the bench against Coventry. He played 31 minutes across Villa’s first three Premier League matches but was an unused substitute for the Nottingham Forest loss last weekend and appears to be dropping further away.
Emery bluntly said Garnacho has to “try and play well” if opportunities do come his way. Critically, however, there are “players in front of him now.” The Villa boss specifically praised “fantastic” George Hemmings and explained that Alysson is improving his “understanding” and “giving us things I want.” So, is Garnacho not? Ibrahim Mbaye, he said, “also responded well.”
Aston Villa Winger Minutes So Far This Season
| Winger | Minutes (All Comps) | Goals, Assists |
|---|---|---|
| George Hemmings | 540 | 1 |
| Alysson | 137 | 1 |
| Ibrahim Mbaye | 91 | 1 |
| Alejandro Garnacho | 31 | – |
“Garnacho is a little bit behind,” Emery noted, “because of some [injury] circumstances we had in preseason. It is time to be patient for the time he needs.”
The real kicker for Garnacho is that Villa are doing poorly and he still isn’t starting matches-or even getting off the bench if the last week is anything to go by.
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At 22 and with several seasons of Premier League experience behind him, he ought to be leading the others by example. Hemmings is a teenager and has only played 11 times after debuting less than a year ago, while Alysson has played just 10 matches since arriving from Brazil in January. He’s 20.
Mbaye is the youngest of the lot, aged 18. His reputation is already significant, but the former Paris Saint-Germain talent must still adapt to a new league and new country, having signed for Villa as recently as Deadline Day, a little over two weeks ago.
Obligation to Buy Doesn’t Guarantee Permanent Transfer
When Garnacho’s loan move from Chelsea was completed in July, reports suggested that the obligation to buy included in the agreement was conditional but “easily achievable.”
Such conditions usually focus on appearances, as was the case when Harvey Elliott signed on loan from Liverpool in 2025. He needed to play just 10 Premier League matches to trigger a £35 million ($46.4 million) obligation to buy. It isn’t a lot of soccer over a season, but Villa decided pretty quickly they didn’t want to spend that and Elliott was kicked to the curb. He got just four league appearances and barely even made the bench after the first month.
It means that Villa have a recent history of not triggering even an “easily achievable” conditional obligation to buy, and what’s to say the same doesn’t happen to Garnacho? The obligation in his loan is set even higher, at a reported £42.6 million ($56.9 million).
Right now, that doesn’t come close to offering value for money. If Aston Villa don’t meet the condition, Garnacho could end up next summer back where he started-unwanted by Chelsea.
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This story was originally published September 17, 2026 at 1:30 PM.