Chelsea and Man Utd weigh up Christopher Nkunku and Alejandro Garnacho transfers

Telegraph

4 hours ago

Chelsea and Manchester United are weighing up the possibility of trying to send Christopher Nkunku and Alejandro Garnacho in opposite directions this summer.
Nkunku and Garnacho both want to quit their respective clubs and the prospect of them trading places has not been ruled out, although there is no expectation of a swap deal being negotiated.
Separate transfers involving Nkunku and Garnacho moving in opposite directions would solve headaches for both United and Chelsea, but the clubs are yet to hold direct talks on the matter this summer.
Garnacho has been told he has no future at United under head coach Ruben Amorim and underlined his desire to leave by posting an image of himself wearing an Aston Villa shirt with Marcus Rashford's name on the back of it.
Villa have been linked with Garnacho, who is said to favour remaining in England and would be expected to jump at the chance to join Chelsea.
Chelsea want to sign a left winger during the summer window with Garnacho part of a three-man list of targets that includes Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens and Lyon's Malik Fofana.
Dortmund expect Gittens to move to Chelsea, despite turning down a £42 million bid this month, with talks between the two clubs ongoing and the expectation of a face-to-face meeting in the United States at the Club World Cup.
But Chelsea could sign more than one of their winger targets depending on other business with all options currently considered open. Telegraph Sport last week broke the news that Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged by the Football Association for doping offences and is facing a lengthy ban, while Noni Madueke is attracting plenty of interest.
Chelsea explored a deal for Garnacho, who United value at around £60 million, in the winter transfer window, which prompted interest from Old Trafford in Nkunku, who is well known to the club's director of recruitment Christopher Vivell.
That interest is said to have been rekindled alongside Chelsea's ongoing interest in Garnacho, despite United trying to sign Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford.
Vivell was technical director at Chelsea and RB Leipzig, from where Nkunku moved to Stamford Bridge in June 2023 for £52 million.
Nkunku's impact at Chelsea was held up by injuries before the France international struggled to hold down a regular starting place under latest head coach Enzo Maresca.
Most naturally a number 10 or a second striker, Nkunku has found himself stuck behind Cole Palmer at Chelsea with Maresca favouring playing a single striker in Nicolas Jackson before the arrival of Liam Delap this summer.