The timing seemed more than just a coincidence.
As Chelsea toiled to break down Wolverhampton Wanderers during the first half of their 3-1 victory on Monday night, it emerged that the agents of Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho were in attendance at Stamford Bridge.
Pictures taken from the vantage point Carlos Cambeiro and former Chelsea midfielder Quique de Lucas had in the stand were lifted from Instagram accounts and shared widely by Manchester United and Chelsea fans alike. They are from the Leaders agency, who boast Garnacho as a client.
Their presence at the match came just three days after The Athletic reported that Chelsea had lodged an enquiry with Manchester United for Garnacho, as well as another talented winger in Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens.
The duo are not the only wide players Chelsea are looking at, with a handful of names in the frame to be bought in 2025. Garnacho may be the easiest to sign in this window though given how Manchester United are open to selling some of their homegrown talent to help comply with football’s financial rules.
In a fixture where keeper Robert Sanchez was at fault yet again for Chelsea conceding a goal and was subject to jeers from his own fans, plus striker Nicolas Jackson showed little sign of ending his run of six games without finding the net, Chelsea fans might be questioning why recruiting another wide player appears to be more of a priority.
So what is the thinking behind this development? Well firstly, a major factor behind this is planning for the worst case scenario over Mykhailo Mudryk.
The Ukraine international tested positive for the banned substance meldonium and has been provisionally suspended by the Football Association while waiting for the results of his B sample. Mudryk put out a statement protesting his innocence last month, saying he never “knowingly used” any banned substances. However, FA anti-doping rules say that is still no defence because a player is responsible for what is in their body “regardless of how (the substance) got there and whether there was an intention to cheat or not”. It means should the B sample come back positive as well, Mudryk will be facing a lengthy suspension.
Now no one would say Mudryk has been a key player for Chelsea since he joined from Shakhtar Donetsk for an initial £62million two years ago. He has made just 26 starts in the Premier League (53 appearances in all), scoring five goals and making four assists. Head coach Enzo Maresca has named him in the first XI just once in the Premier League this season.
But he has been a useful squad player at least, someone to use in the cup competitions and bring off the bench when one of the more preferred wingers are getting tired. His three goals and five assists this season have come in the UEFA Conference League and EFL Cup. It is not an amazing contribution but it is still a reasonable one.
GO DEEPER
Mudryk, the Chelsea winger who arrived as a £62m victory – but is now facing failed test
Chelsea are now looking at the balance of the squad should Mudryk be absent for a long period of time. They have two left-footed wingers in Pedro Neto and Noni Madueke, whose preferred position is on the right-hand side. Neto has been selected on the left a few times this season, including against Wolves, but is not as effective there.
The only experienced right-footed winger they have available for selection right now is Jadon Sancho, who joined from Manchester United on loan in August with an obligation to buy permanently in the summer included. Chelsea’s minds have not been completely made up yet whether something should be done about the lack of depth in this position during this window or the next.
Chelsea have already reacted by officially promoting the talented Tyrique George from the under-21 squad into the senior side last month, but the club’s interest in more established right-footed wingers like Garnacho and Gittens, even though they are just two years older, demonstrates that they do not view him as a genuine first-team regular yet. The 18-year-old has made 11 appearances in 2024-25 but his six minutes as a substitute against Wolves is his only taste of Premier League football so far.
There is always a difficult balance to strike with young players. You do not want to block their pathway too much otherwise they have no chance to develop. On the other handl you risk putting too much pressure on them if you play them too often too soon, especially at a club that comes under intense scrutiny every week.
Chelsea have a lot of things at stake in the second half of the campaign. They have a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four finish in the Premier League. Silverware is also a possibility courtesy of being in the UEFA Conference League, FA Cup and the expanded FIFA Club World Cup. Acquiring another winger to play on the left can help them with that, although sections of the fanbase will regard it as a wasted opportunity not to develop George a lot more should they do so.
Noni Madueke heads home to score Chelsea’s third goal against Wolves (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Another query Chelsea followers might have is over the fact that Estevao Willian, who will be arriving from from Palmeiras for an initial €34million plus another €23m in add-ons, and fellow teenager Kendry Paez, from Independiente del Valle, have already agreed deals to join Chelsea in the summer to increase the competition for places.
But neither address a potentially problematic left hand side. Estevao is a left-footed player who is more likely to play on the right or further inside. Chelsea see Paez as operating more centrally too.
Perhaps Chelsea just want an upgrade now anyway. On the eve of the Wolves match, Maresca spoke about how he wanted his wingers to “score more goals”. Madueke took his tally to seven for the season when putting Chelsea 3-1 in front but Maresca once again questioned why the England international did not do more in his post-match press conference. The Italian has already left Madueke out of a matchday squad on two occasions because he has not been happy with what he has been seeing. As for Neto and Sancho, they have just three goals between them from a combined 35 Premier League appearances (plus six assists).
There are now less than two weeks to go before this transfer window shuts. Chelsea still have a lot of decisions to make, mainly about outgoings, but the quandary over whether to add a right-footed winger to the group is part of the equation now.
(Top photo: Noni Madueke celebrates scoring against Wolves; Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
