Enzo Maresca says Alejandro Garnacho may make his first Chelsea start against Manchester United but has warned him of the reception he might get at Old Trafford
After suffering their first loss of the season at Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Chelsea will travel to Manchester for a Premier League clash on Saturday evening.
While the Blues have made a decent start to the season, the Red Devils are already in crisis mode after winning just one of their opening five games.
While Sir Jim Ratcliffe is backing Ruben Amorim for now, rumours suggest the head coach has just three games left to save his job.
Amorim made a big call over the summer by selling off highly-rated youngster Garnacho, who was once heralded as the future of United’s attack, to Chelsea for £40million.
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The winger had a major fall out with the head coach after the Europa League final defeat in May, which lead to him been exiled from the first-team alongside the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.
After cameo appearances off the bench against Brentford and Bayern, where he performed well, he could now make his full debut against his former club.
‘In the last two games, he was inside very good,’ Maresca said of Garnacho in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
‘He can be very good in the second half. I explained to him the other day against Bayern Munich. We are adapting our style, what we want from the winger.
‘Now, if he’s ready to start tomorrow, I think he’s ready to start.’
United fans were divided over Garnacho’s fate and it will be interesting to see how they react to seeing their former hero in blue on Saturday.
Asked what reception he thought the 21-year-old would get at Old Trafford, Maresca replied: ‘I don’t know what’s happened to him. It’s a question for the fans, not for me,’ but added that he had to be prepared for the worst.
‘It’s always difficult. The other day, against Bayern Munich, [Marc] Cucurella every time touched the ball [got booed].
‘The noise was not the best one. But you have to learn also to handle these kind of things.’
Ruben Amorim reacts to Alejandro Garnacho’s Man Utd return
As for Amorim himself, he could not care less for his former player when asked about the Argentine in his press conference.
‘Garnacho is not our player, I’m focused on our players,’ the Portuguese bluntly replied.
‘I’m really happy with Mason [Mount] and [Matheus] Cunha returning. The rest, talk to the Chelsea manager.’
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