A permanent transfer to Aston Villa for Chelsea loanee Alejandro Garnacho is reportedly ‘now in jeopardy’ for one main reason.

In the summer, Garnacho was involved in one of the window’s most surprising transfers, with the winger joining Aston Villa from Chelsea on loan with a conditional buy option.

Garnacho has had a problematic couple of years after being earmarked as a future star of world football as he progressed through the ranks at Man Utd.

Man Utd decided to offload Garnacho in the 2025 summer transfer window after he fell out with former head coach Ruben Amorim, but he also struggled at Chelsea last season.

Garnacho was only a bit-part player as he only impressed in fits and starts in his debut season for Chelsea, and the Blues sanctioned his move to Aston Villa in the summer.

Aston Villa will have to buy Garnacho for £43m if he makes a certain number of appearances this season.

However, Garnacho has made a slow start to this season, and a report in the international break claimed he had an ‘intense mini pre-season’ to improve his fitness for the remainder of this campaign.

Despite this, the 22-year-old is yet to make a single start for Aston Villa in any competition this season, and he has only played 42 minutes in his four substitute appearances.

At the weekend, Garnacho was not even in Aston Villa’s squad for his side’s 1-0 victory at Newcastle United, and his future at Villa Park now appears in doubt.

Aston Villa’s deal for Alejandro Garnacho is ‘now in jeopardy’

A report from Football Insider claims a permanent move for Garnacho was considered ‘almost certain’, but it is ‘now in jeopardy’.

This is mainly because Chelsea have been ‘disappointed’ with Garnacho’s ‘lack of minutes’ in the early months of this season.

The report explains:

‘The 22-year-old winger has played just 22 minutes of Premier League football so far this term, with his parent club losing patience with the situation.

‘Sources say that there is a major “financial risk” involved in the deal for Chelsea, who are hoping not to have to find another way to offload the wideman next summer.’

Last month, Villa head coach Unai Emery shed light on why he has not been using Garnacho.

Emery said: “Continue working. Work, work, train, work.

“When he can have minutes to play, try to play well. He is progressing, but we have players in front of him now.

“George is playing fantastic. Alysson is also understanding things well and is giving us things I want. (Ibrahim) Mbaye also responded well.

“We want a competitive team and players to compete in the style we have. Garnacho is a little bit behind because of some circumstances we had in pre-season. It is time to be patient for the time he needs.”