Chelsea to accelerate deal for “electric” £40m star

How many more attacking midfielders and wingers will Chelsea sign? Well, seemingly all of them!

As has been widely reported, the Blues are close to signing Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig for around £50m, simply adding to Enzo Maresca’s plethora of attacking options.

The Dutchman will join Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto, Jamie Gittens and many, many other players in battling for minutes in-behind the centre-forward but, because this is Chelsea, they’re far from done yet, seemingly close to making another signing in attacking areas.

Chelsea’s ready to land another attacking talent

Of all the players Chelsea have signed in the Clearlake Capital era, it could be argued that Estêvão Willian is the most exciting, officially arriving from Palmeiras for £29m earlier this month, albeit the deal had been agreed a long time ago.

Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labels the Brazilian teenager a “world-class talent”, while Luis Kircher of Total Football Analysis compares him to Neymar, outlining how he can play as an attacking midfielder or a winger, impressed by his ‘creativity, dribbling, and vision’.

Well, those inside Stamford Bridge on Friday night got a taste of what was to come, with Estêvão breaking the deadlock during a 2-0 friendly victory over Bayer Leverkusen, with Sam Tabuteau of the Evening Standard describing his performance as ‘scintillating’.

By the time the serious action begins against Crystal Palace next Sunday, could his opportunities be limited, or will he have another South American starlet to shine alongside?

That’s because, as reported by Rob Dawson of ESPN, Chelsea are ‘in talks’ with Manchester United over the signing of Alejandro Garnacho, with both clubs looking to ‘accelerate’ the deal quickly; the Red Devils need to raise money, having just completed the signing of Benjamin Šeško for around £73m.

As far back as 2 June, when the first transfer window had only just opened, Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian reported that Chelsea’s priority in this window was to sign a right-footed left-winger better than Jadon Sancho, with Garnacho right at the top of their list, so will this deal finally get over the line soon?

What Chelsea supporters should expect from Alejandro Garnacho

It would appear as though Chelsea are going to snap up Garnacho at a bargain price.

Earlier this summer, it was reported that Man United valued Garnacho at £70m but, having been told to find a new club by manager Rúben Amorim, James Ducker of The Telegraph claims that the Argentine winger is available for £40m.

This decision from the manager was such a surprise because Garnacho had actually been pretty productive for an otherwise generally miserable Manchester United side, scoring 26 goals and registering 22 assists for the club in total.

This includes six Premier League goals last season, with Statman Dave labelling him “electric”, while Kurosh Moghtader of Total Football Analysis praises his ‘reliable attacking outlet’.

Meantime, Sive Vishwa of Breaking the Lines describes him as an “extremely promising” young talent, adding that he is a direct dribbler who will inject ‘flair’ into any attack. With Estevao on one flank and Garnacho on the other, the Blues could have the makings of a long-term attacking partnership.

The question remains, however, how does he compare to his potential future teammate?

The Brazilian domestic season runs on a calendar-year basis, hence why Estêvão has played significantly more minutes than Garnacho during the timeframe included.

That aside, even on a per-90 basis, the Brazilian’s statistics are largely more impressive than those of the Argentine, including when it comes to shooting accuracy, chances created and take-on success percentage.

Garnacho is a more high-volume shooter and racks up plenty of progressive carries, while it’s also worth noting that he was playing for an historically terrible Manchester United team.

Meantime, Estêvão was playing at a lower level, albeit only slightly, with Global Football Rankings believing the Brasileirão to be the sixth-strongest league in the world, while the teenager featured in competitions such as the Club World Cup and the Copa Libertadores during this period.

Thus, it could be argued that Estêvão deserves to start in Chelsea’s team, but one would imagine that Garnacho’s Premier League experience and readiness will see him get the nod; either way, Enzo Maresca could have two exciting new attacking weapons to wield!