Aston Villa emerge as shock suitors in race for wantaway United star – as Erik ten Hag eyes reunion in Leverkusen

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·29 May 2025

Aston Villa emerge as shock suitors in race for wantaway United star – as Erik ten Hag eyes reunion in Leverkusen

Aside from the soon-to-be-free agents and on-loan stars likely to be sold, Alejandro Garnacho is essentially nailed on to depart Manchester United this summer.

Indeed, you’d struggle to see a way back for a player who was directly told to ‘pray’ he could find another club by Ruben Amorim in the aftermath of his post-Europa League final antics, which saw him undermine the boss’ decision to leave him out of the starting XI.

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When speaking to reporters after the full-time whistle in Bilbao, Garnacho rued the fact he’d been dropped for the tie, labelled United’s season as ‘sh*t’ and hinted at a potential move away when finishing his media duties by saying: “I’ll enjoy my summer and then we’ll see.”

Alejandro Garnacho preparing for Old Trafford exit after five years

(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Alas, such behaviour has proven the final nail in the coffin of Garnacho’s Red Devils career.

He was omitted from the matchday squad for the final day of the Premier League campaign last Sunday, although he has travelled to take part in the club’s post-season tour of Asia.

Should he have now played his final competitive game in red, Garnacho will leave Old Trafford with 144 senior appearances to his name, as well as 26 goals and 22 assists – making it no surprise INEOS value the 20-year-old in the region of £60 million.

Who’s interested in Garnacho?

So, what are his options in the forthcoming transfer window?

Chelsea and Napoli established their interest in signing the eight-capped Argentine back in January, with the latter having a £45m bid rejected. It was claimed earlier this week that the newly-crowned Serie A champions would look to reignite their pursuit by holding talks with United.

There are some surprising suitors in the mix, too. According to CaughtOffside, Aston Villa are keen on hashing out a deal to bring the livewire winger to Villa Park, while Erik ten Hag has set his sights on a reunion with his former protegee after being appointed as Bayer Leverkusen manager.

AC Milan have reached out to Garnacho’s representatives to gauge the prospect of a San Siro switch, along with Champions League finalists Inter Milan, Juventus and Roma.