Alejandro Garnacho has opened up on his decision to join Chelsea and revealed the role Enzo Maresca and Enzo Fernandez played in the transfer.
The Argentine winger completed a £40m move to Stamford Bridge last summer after being discarded by Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim.
Garnacho was once one of the most highly-rated players at Old Trafford but Amorim grew frustrated with his form and conduct off the pitch.
Placed in Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’ at the start of the summer, Garnacho was linked with Chelsea for weeks before he eventually moved to west London on a seven-year deal.
Garnacho admits his last season at Manchester United was ‘difficult’ and says a video call with Chelsea boss Maresca helped convince him to join the Blues.
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‘Obviously, in my last season at United, with the new manager, there were a lot of changes in the situation at the club and it was a bit difficult,’ Garnacho told Sports Illustrated.
‘I still played a lot of games last season, mainly from the start or sometimes from the bench.
‘But when I spoke with this club, with the manager, it’s important also the style of play we have now.
‘He explained a lot to me in a video call with him, so I think it was a very important move for me and an opportunity to improve as a player in a team like Chelsea.’
Garnacho was also in regular contact with Chelsea vice-captain Fernandez before he made the switch from Manchester United.
The pair are teammates with Argentina and Garnacho says Fernandez has ‘helped him a lot’ since he arrived at Stamford Bridge.
‘I know him from the national team, and he’s a very good guy,’ Garnacho added. ‘I spoke with him during the summer all the time – he text me every week.
‘Then we met again here and he has helped me a lot, to be honest, from the start of my time here, so now we are very good friends.’
Garnacho scored his first goal for Chelsea at the weekend but that was not enough to prevent Maresca’s side from suffering a hugely disappointing 2-1 defeat to Sunderland.
A victory would have taken the Club World Cup champions into the top-four but losing to newly-promoted Sunderland leaves Chelsea ninth in the Premier League.
Chelsea face London rivals Tottenham at the weekend after a Carabao Cup last-16 clash against basement boys Wolves on Wednesday night.
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