Chelsea have a giant transfer problem - and there is no solution

24 Sept 2026 18:58 BST | 4 min read

Cameron Smith | Digital Content Producer

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Chelsea’s business during the 2026 summer transfer window was wholly positive, with a host of key issues addressed and lessons learned from past failings under the BlueCo regime.

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Several experienced heads arrived to balance out the youthful nature of the squad, key sales were made, and the Blues also crucially arranged loan moves for their most talented academy starlets, with Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and Reggie Walsh already reaping the benefits of leaving youth-level football for the real thing.

One of their biggest errors, however, was finalised in late July.

Current ETV

Alejandro Garnacho

F, M (L)

A. Villa

Alejandro Garnacho

F, M (L)

A. Villa

ETV Range

€36.1M - €44.2M

After a hugely underwhelming debut campaign at Stamford Bridge, Alejandro Garnacho was widely expected to leave the club on a permanent deal, with Geovany Quenda and Morgan Rogers both arriving to bolster Chelsea’s options on the left flank.

He instead secured a loan move to Aston Villa, and Chelsea included an obligation-to-buy clause that will automatically be triggered if certain conditions are met. The details of this clause are unknown, although it’s likely that it relates to appearances.

However, they failed to include a January break clause in the deal, as per a report from The Telegraph, and there is therefore no way to recall Garnacho during the mid-season transfer window, despite the fact he has been unable to work his way into favour at Villa.

Garnacho has played just 31 minutes of action from a possible 720 so far this season and he has fallen further down the pecking order in recent weeks following the return to fitness of Johan Manzambi and the signing of Ibrahim Mbaye.

He has been an unused substitute in Villa’s last four matches across all competitions and it looks highly unlikely that he will become a key player under Emery. As a result, Chelsea are set to miss out on a sizeable transfer fee next summer, and they also have no power to bring Garnacho back to the club in January.

He will instead likely rot on the substitutes bench for the remainder of the season before returning to Stamford Bridge with his reputation, and transfer value, at an all-time low.

© IMAGO - Alejandro Garnacho is yet to start a match for Aston Villa

Harvey Elliott 2.0

Garnacho’s struggles at Aston Villa almost exactly mirror Harvey Elliott’s loan move to Unai Emery’s side last season.

Like Garnacho, Elliott’s deal also included an obligation-to-buy clause if certain conditions were met and, as a result, he was limited to just nine appearances across the entire campaign, with Villa unwilling to sign him permanently.

The Liverpool star arrived with a burgeoning reputation after playing a key role as England retained the U21 European Championship title, but he simply wasn’t favoured by Emery and after a hugely disappointing loan stint in the Midlands, he joined Valencia on another temporary deal this summer.

Garnacho could well be set to follow a similar path and unless a major u-turn takes place, Chelsea will miss out on receiving a hefty transfer fee and they will be forced to find another suitor for the Argentina winger next year.