Enzo Maresca breaks silence on Chelsea's interest in Man Utd star Alejandro Garnacho
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Enzo Maresca has spoken out about Chelsea’s interest in Alejandro Garnacho amid rumours he could leave Manchester United in January.
It was reported last week that Garnacho had emerged as a surprise transfer target for Chelsea as they look to bolster their forward options.
United are not currently looking to sell the winger but may be forced to do so because of their financial situation, with Napoli very interested in his services.
Antonio Conte wants the young Argentine to replace Khvicha Kvaratskhelia who has joined PSG, but are yet to meet the £54.8million price tag set by the Red Devils.
Chelsea are said to be stepping up their efforts to sign Garnacho, who has scored eight and assisted five for United so far this season – only Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo have more goal contributions.
But in his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s big Premier League game at Manchester City, Maresca seemed to suggest he had no interest in signing another attacking player.
Asked about the Garnacho links, the Blues head coach replied: ‘I’m happy with what we have in this moment. On the right side it is Pedro Neto and Noni Madueke, on the left we have Jadon Sancho.
‘We had Misha [Mykhailo Mudryk] but he is not with us. Tyrique George is a young profile that can help us.’
Asked about January signings in general, he added: ‘With the club, the sporting directors, we pay attention if something can happen. We will see in the next 10 days if something will happen.’
It is thought Garnacho would prefer a move to Chelsea over Napoli but is not pushing to leave Old Trafford, though he has not been a regular starter under Ruben Amorim.
But while one forward had been linked with moving to Stamford Bridge, two more are tipped to leave, with Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku the subject of much transfer speculation.
Both have struggled for starts under Maresca, with AC Milan keen on Felix after dropping their interest Marcus Rashford, while Nkunku is heavily linked with Bayern Munich.
Maresca has denied that either will leave west London however, adding: ‘For sure, Joao is a Chelsea player. The problem, unfortunately, for Joao and Christo, the manager plays most of the games with one attacking midfielder and that is Cole Palmer.
‘We have decided to play with an attacking midfielder in most of the games, so this is the reason why Joao and Christo struggle to get minutes – not for any different reasons because they are both fantastic players, fantastic guys who work well.
‘The reason why is only because most of the games I decide to play with one attacking midfielder in terms of balance. This is the reason why.
‘I am not saying that [they will leave]. I am saying that I like both but the reason why they struggle is because most of the time I play with one attacking midfielder.’
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