At just 21 years old, Alejandro Garnacho has experienced both the brightness and the shadows of top-level football. He emerged as a true prodigy back in 2022 when he debuted for the Manchester United first team. However, the attacker's career went into decline. To such an extent that Manchester decided to transfer him at the end of the last season, pushed by the friction he had with the then-manager of the Reds, Ruben Amorim, and by a sporting performance that had ceased to satisfy.

Garnacho received a promising opportunity: Chelsea bought him for €46 million. Enzo Maresca, then manager of the Blues, was enthusiastic about him, though he soon raised alarms with his statements: "He is not at 100%, he needs work." The Italian manager considered him and encouraged him, but the surprising dismissal at the start of 2026 caused Garnacho to lose ground. And the minutes given to him by the new manager, Liam Rosenior, were not taken advantage of.

The English newspaper The Telegraph published a scathing article this Saturday about the forward who represents Argentina. "Why Chelsea fans are losing patience with Alejandro Garnacho" is the headline of the piece, whose subheading is even more eloquent: "Reluctance to take on defenders denotes a lack of self-confidence from the winger; furthermore, Rosenior admits his own teammates mock him for his poor ball control."

The trigger was last weekend, in the match, Chelsea came back to win 3-2 against West Ham. Garnacho, who had been named in the starting lineup by Rosenior, was substituted at halftime. It was the seventh time the Argentine had been substituted before the hour mark since his arrival at Chelsea, where he has only completed the full match on two occasions. Former Chelsea player Pat Nevin was at the West Ham match as a BBC commentator and believed Garnacho should be substituted for his own good. "He was getting a very, very harsh treatment [from the fans]," Nevin said. "I was saying, 'Take him off, it's not fair on him. It could destroy him.'"

Nevin elaborated: "I don't know him at all [Garnacho], but he is one of those players who get booed wherever they go. There aren't many players who are booed by all the opposition fans. [Marc] Cucurella is one of them, but so is Garnacho. And it's even harder if your own fans join in with the booing. That happened to Cucurella early in his Chelsea career, and he proved you can turn the situation around with hard work and by showing willingness."

It is true that Rosenior was lenient with Garnacho and came out to support him before Saturday's match, in which the forward saw more minutes, although his entry for Palmer in the 62nd minute did not change a game that had been decided in the first half. With a Palmer hat-trick, Chelsea defeated Wolverhampton 3-1.

"Garna is an exceptional player, that's why he is here, and many good moments await him," Rosenior praised him.

Garnacho has been substituted in all four matches he has started under Rosenior, and his best contribution was as a substitute in the Carabao Cup semifinal first leg against Arsenal, where he scored two goals. Since he arrived at Chelsea, he has participated in 28 matches, with 6 goals and 3 assists.

"The most striking thing has been Garnacho's apparent reluctance to take on opposing defenders, as he has often preferred to turn back and look for a teammate behind him," describes The Telegraph article. The same article questions his teammates' confidence in the forward: "There were moments during his substitute appearance in the second leg against Arsenal when Chelsea players passed backwards instead of giving the ball to Garnacho to try and beat his man."

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