Chelsea have been given a boost in their pursuit of Alejandro Garnacho as Napoli appear to turn their attention to other targets.
Both Chelsea and Napoli are interested in signing the 20-year-old, who has struggled to adapt to Ruben Amorim's new 3-4-3 system at Manchester United. Napoli have rejected a bid of around £50million plus add-ons for Garnacho, while Chelsea are closely monitoring the situation.
Napoli are looking for a replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia this month after selling him to Paris Saint-Germain for around £60m, but it appears United's £70m asking price for Garnacho has proven to be a sticking point.
According to reports, Napoli have contacted Borussia Dortmund over a deal for Karim Adeyemi. It is claimed that a fee worth €50m is being discussed between the two clubs, while Napoli are also in talks with Adeyemi's representatives over personal terms.
The 23-year-old has contributed 32 goals in 79 appearances in all competitions for Dortmund since joining the club from Red Bull Salzburg in 2022. The news of Napoli's move for Adeyemi is a big boost for Chelsea, who are set to hold talks with United over Garnacho.
Garnacho's agents, Carlos Cambeiro and Quique De Lucas, were also seen as Chelsea beat Wolves 3-1 at Stamford Bridge on Monday. When asked about the forward's future earlier this month, Amorim admitted that Garnacho must adapt to the demands of his system.
“That's clear,” Amorim said. “He has talent and needs to learn to play in a different position. He needs to play better inside. He improves a lot in the recovery position when he doesn't have the ball.”
But in doing that, sometimes he isn't in the right spot to make transitions like he has in the past. I prefer to defend and then build with the whole team to reach the final third. He finds the best way to play in this. system.
“He's improving in training and he started the last game against Arsenal. Let's see against Southampton and I think he's changed the way he sees himself.” Garnacho played the full 90 minutes as United beat Southampton 3-1, but he struggled to make an impact and was promptly left on the bench against Brighton.
And Paul Scholes believes Garnacho wouldn't be a big loss if the club were to sell him, with the United legend telling TNT Sports: “United can probably be better than Garnacho. Even though he's young and there's more to come, he's sometimes shoddy in his technique and his decision making is really poor at times. I wouldn't worry if they sold him.”
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