Man Utd paid 80 times less for Garnacho than Chelsea’s least expensive signing this season

Manchester United paid 80 times less for Alejandro Garnacho than Chelsea spent on their least expensive signing this season. The Red Devils secured a bargain when they captured a then-16-year-old Garnacho from Atletico Madrid in 2020.

Argentina wonderkid Garnacho was signed for only £100,000 in compensation when he arrived at Old Trafford. United were able to sign the attacker for such a small fee as he was yet to sign a professional contract with the La Liga outfit.

United’s excellent deal for the 18-year-old is emphasised when compared with Chelsea’s lavish spending during the 2022-23 campaign. The Blues have spent around £600million since Todd Boehly’s consortium completed its £4.25billion takeover in May 2022.

Even Chelsea’s lowest fee paid for a player last term was a staggering 80 times more than United paid for Garnacho. That was the £8m paid for teenage goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, who arrived from MLS outfit Chicago Fire.

Slonina was signed by Chelsea last summer but spent the remainder of the 2022 MLS season back on loan at his former club. The 19-year-old has since moved to Stamford Bridge, playing eight times in Premier League 2 for Chelsea’s U21 side.

The shot-stopper is one of 15 arrivals at Chelsea since Boehly became co-owner alongside business partner Behdad Eghbali. Slonina is yet to even appear as a substitute for the senior team.

He has therefore not had quite the same impact on senior football as Garnacho did in 2022-23. In a fantastic breakthrough campaign, the Argentina U21 international scored five goals in 34 appearances across all competitions.

After a slow start to the campaign under Erik ten Hag, in which he was criticised by both his manager and vice-captain Bruno Fernandes, Garnacho began to blossom in the weeks prior to the World Cup break. He used the international window to learn Ten Hag’s system – and was ultimately a key player come the final months of the season.

An important last-minute goal against Wolves all but secured United’s place in the top four. He was then unfortunate not to start Saturday’s FA Cup final defeat by rivals Manchester City, instead replacing Christian Eriksen as an early second-half substitute.

Garnacho – whose £100,000 fee was reported by The Athletic – almost made an immediate impact at Wembley. Soon after Ilkay Gundogan made the score 2-1, the United academy graduate cut inside from the left and curled a wonderful effort just inches wide of the post.

It was evidence of why Garnacho is so highly rated at Old Trafford. After penning a five-year contract extension in April, the sky seems to be the limit for one of the Premier League’s brightest prospects.