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- 7 hours ago
Man Utd discuss Garnacho-Watkins swap deal as Fabrizio Romano confirms Aston Villa interest
Carlo Garganese
- Updated: 30 Jul 2025 10:59 BST
- 5 min read
News
Man Utd are considering a shock swap deal involving Alejandro Garnacho and Ollie Watkins.
The Independent reports that United have held discussions with both Aston Villa and Chelsea over potentially swapping Garnacho for either Watkins or Nicolas Jackson, respectively.
Current ETV
Alejandro Garnacho
AM (C)
Man Utd
Alejandro Garnacho
AM (C)
Man Utd
ETV Range
€53.8M - €65.8M
United are desperately trying to offload Garnacho this summer, while they also need to sign a new number nine.
But with financial pressures related to PSR, The Independent reports that they are looking at ways to solve both of these two problems in one go.
Swap deals such as these are one way to get through these hoops, and United have a long-term interest in Watkins.
Man Utd swap deal for Garnacho?
Chelsea, who are ready to sell Jackson, are already considering moving for Garnacho once they have completed the signings of Jorrel Hato and Xavi Simons this week.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed on his Italian Youtube channel that Aston Villa are interested in potentially signing Garnacho, providing further credence to this angle of the Independent report.
The Independent does point out, though, that the high valuations of both Jackson and Watkins by their clubs will make any swap deal difficult to negotiate.
Chelsea's interest in Garnacho is long-standing, but there is one main obstacle as regards any potential trade. While the Stamford Bridge hierarchy value Jackson at £80m, they don't want to pay more than £30m for Garnacho.
Garnacho is transfer listed at Man Utd and has no future at the club.
He has been left out of United's preseason tour of the United States alongside Antony, Tyrell Malacia and Jadon Sancho - all of whom will also depart this summer.
Garnacho was close to leaving Man Utd during the January transfer window after agreeing personal terms with Napoli.
Napoli were locked in negotiations with Garnacho for over a fortnight during January as a replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia after the Georgian star joined PSG for €75 million.
However, the two clubs failed to agree a fee and Garnacho ended up staying.
Garnacho has been unsettled at Old Trafford for some time, and has not shown his best form under manager Ruben Amorim.
The 21-year-old Garnacho was one of the few bright lights of Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Manchester United.
He was one of the breakout stars in the Premier League in 2022-23, making eight goal contributions from 10 starts and 29 appearances.
He had a string of memorable performances, including the winner against Real Sociedad in the Europa League which made him the youngest foreign player to ever score for Man Utd in European competition.
Garnacho broke a string of records, and also starred in the Manchester derby, assisting Marcus Rashford’s winner in the 2-1 victory over Man City.
In 2023-24 Garnacho continued to impress, with 10 goals in all competitions. He scored in the 2-1 FA Cup final win over Man City, hit a memorable brace in the 4-3 victory over Chelsea and scored the goal of the season with a stunning bicycle kick against Everton.
This past season Garnacho saw his star shine less bright, with just six goals and twoo assists in 36 Premier League games.
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Premier League
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