Aston Villa might miss out on signing three other Chelsea targets after the Alejandro Garnacho deal.
Aston Villa are reportedly planning to go after three more Chelsea players once they finish signing Alejandro Garnacho—but they might face a tricky choice about whether to make those deals.
Garnacho is expected to join Villa on an initial loan, with an agreement to buy him at the end of the season if certain conditions are met. Reports say those conditions are pretty easy to reach, and although the exact fee hasn’t been shared, Chelsea could get close to their £43 million asking price.
This move will make Villa Garnacho’s third club in just 12 months, after he moved from Manchester United to Chelsea last summer. Villa’s manager, Unai Emery, really wanted the Argentinian winger and gave the green light for the transfer.
Now, Garnacho will be hoping to get his career back on track. The 22-year-old missed out on Argentina’s World Cup squad and hasn’t played for his country since 2024.
The deal has drawn attention because Chelsea recently signed Morgan Rogers from Villa for £117 million. Under transfer rules, a swap deal happens when two clubs make several deals going both ways within 45 days. UEFA checks these closely to make sure fees aren’t inflated, and if they find any issues, clubs can be punished. In Villa’s case, it could mean having to reduce the reported profit from the Rogers sale.
Authorities will need to decide if Garnacho’s loan with an option to buy counts as part of a swap deal. According to The Athletic, if it does, Villa might have to lower the profit from the Rogers sale by the difference between the cash they got and what they paid Chelsea. A final decision will come after the transfer is complete.
Depending on how this plays out, Villa might need to think carefully about future deals with Chelsea after the Garnacho signing.
Interestingly, TEAMtalk says Villa’s interest in Chelsea players doesn’t stop here. They are also keen on three Chelsea players who are not in high demand: Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, and Nicolas Jackson.
Jackson spent last season on loan at Bayern Munich as backup to Harry Kane. He scored 11 goals in 34 appearances for Vincent Kompany’s team and has now returned to Chelsea for pre-season.
Chelsea reportedly value Jackson at £65 million, but it seems unlikely they’ll get that much. Earlier this month, it was suggested that Chelsea might sell Jackson, Liam Delap, or newcomer Emmanuel Emegha.
The London Evening Standard says Jackson is open to reuniting with Emery—they worked together before at Villarreal—but no talks between the clubs have happened yet. Jackson has been on holiday after the World Cup and will join Chelsea’s pre-season if he stays at the club.
Disasi is familiar with Villa and Emery, having spent half of last season on loan at Villa Park. He also spent time on loan at West Ham, making 14 appearances, although that didn’t stop West Ham from being relegated.
Badiashile played just eight Premier League games for Chelsea last season and seems to be surplus to their needs.