"[He has to] continue working. Work, work, train, work," Unai Emery said, and the message to Alejandro Garnacho has been clear enough. The winger has made only two Premier League appearances for Aston Villa this season, with 30 minutes in total, and Emery has already put younger rivals ahead of him.
Emery's selection message
Emery also said: "When he can have minutes to play, try and play well. He is progressing, but we have players in front of him now. 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." He named George Hemmings, Ibrahim Mbaye and Alysson as players currently ahead of Garnacho, and that is the real story here. Villa have collected one point from their opening five league matches, so the competition for minutes is already tight.
The loan winger has not done enough to force the issue. His latest Premier League outing lasted 21 minutes, and Emery's public line suggests Garnacho is still in the part of the squad where he has to earn trust rather than protect it. Against Coventry in midweek, he was an unused substitute in Villa's Carabao Cup win.
What that means for his loan
The longer this stays at three appearances and no sustained role, the more pressure builds around the loan agreement itself. TEAMtalk have reported that Garnacho is on a season-long loan with a conditional obligation to buy, and that the obligation is worth £42million. Graeme Bailey also said Villa sources are playing down suggestions that he is already finished at the club, insisting Emery remains a believer and that the player will get opportunities to prove himself.
That leaves Garnacho in a straightforward fight for minutes. Emery has already picked out the younger players in front of him, and Villa's next league fixture is away to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. A strong shift there would matter more than any noise around the loan clause.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →
