Why Alejandro Garnacho can be a £40m bargain for Chelsea: How the winger is impressing Enzo Maresca after arriving to little excitement after his controversial Man United exit

Enzo Maresca pointed to his players as one of key reasons he is 'happy' at Chelsea on Tuesday night, attempting to offer reassurance following his headline-grabbing comments on the weekend.

The Italian had claimed after Chelsea's win over Everton that he had experienced 'the worst 48 hours' of his tenure, citing a lack of support from 'people', something he is yet to clarify.

While Maresca sought to reduce the noise by thanking Chelsea's fans for their support and declaring he was 'falling more in love with the players', a star known for generating his own headlines had continued his quiet progress on the pitch.

Alejandro Garnacho had been called upon by Maresca to help his much-changed side overcome League One high-flyers Cardiff, who had frustrated the Blues in the first half.

Garnacho, who came on with Joao Pedro at half-time, made a telling contribution by scoring twice to help Chelsea earn a 3-1 victory to book their place in the semi-finals.

The Argentine's double furthered his cause to be Chelsea's first-choice on the left wing, with £52million summer signing Jamie Gittens having struggled during the first half.

Alejandro Garnacho, left, scored twice in Chelsea's 3-1 victory over Cardiff on Tuesday

Garnacho is starting to show signs he could prove to be a bargain signing at £40million

While Garnacho has scored just four times since his £40m summer move from Man United - also notching against Sunderland and Qarabag - there is a view that he could prove to be a bargain addition by the Blues.

Maresca had largely used Garnacho off the bench in his early weeks at Chelsea having noted he had not arrived in the best condition after being consigned to Man United's 'bomb squad'.

The winger has made more starts in recent weeks and appears content with his role in the Chelsea squad, despite only completing the full 90 minutes once since signing.

'They brought me on and I tried to help the team,' Garnacho told Sky Sports following Tuesday night's victory. 'Me, Pedro and the rest of the players did that, we are really happy.

'As a group we are doing really well. Sometimes you have to start games and sometimes you have to help from the bench. We don't focus on this, we just try to help the team.

'We'll try to compete for everything, and the semi-final is the next one so we'll try to win.'

Garnacho's comments may have raised an eyebrow among Manchester United fans given the nature of his exit from the club over the summer.

The winger had courted controversy in the immediate aftermath of the Europa League final defeat by Tottenham , largely due to his complaints about being left on the bench for the season-defining match in Bilbao. Garnacho’s brother Roberto had also accused Amorim of ‘throwing him under the bus’ in a social media post.

Garnacho’s uneasy relationship with Man United boss Ruben Amorim played out in public last season

‘Obviously it’s hard for everyone,’ Garnacho had said. ‘Our season was s***. We didn’t beat anyone in the league. We lacked a lot of things. When you don’t score goals, you always need more.

'Until we reached the final, I played every round. And I played 20 minutes today – I don’t know. I’m going to try to enjoy the summer and see what happens next.’

In response Amorim was reported to have brutally told Garnacho 'You better hope you have a good agent this summer', with the winger consigned to the Man United bomb squad.

On reflection, Amorim's comment might have been hasty, as Chelsea had emerged as suitors for Garnacho from the moment his Man United career appeared in doubt after he had been axed for the Manchester derby in December over a show of dissent to Amorim.

While many would have been put off by Garnacho's history - from liking social media posts criticising Erik ten Hag, sharing another post after being substituted against Ipswich and his Europa League final outburst - the Blues maintained their interest.

Man United's willingness to part with Garnacho may have also enabled the Blues to snare him for a bargain £40million price.

Despite the obvious concerns, the fee offered clear value for a full Argentina international with eight caps, especially one who has won the Copa America, League Cup and FA Cup, and had made 93 Premier League appearances at such a young age prior to his arrival at Chelsea.

While Garnacho was signed to add to Chelsea's attack and has been known for producing the spectacular on occasion during his career, most notably his Puskas award winning overhead kick for Man United against Everton, it is another area of his game that has impressed Maresca.

Garnacho is understood to have impressed Enzo Maresca with his defensive work, reflected by his introduction at half-time against Arsenal after Chelsea had been reduced to 10-men

Daily Mail Sport understands the Chelsea boss has been impressed with Garnacho's willingness to help out defensively, which has helped his cause when pushing to make the left wing berth his own.

When Chelsea were reduced to 10-men against Arsenal last month, Garnacho would unlikely have been the first name that came to mind for fans to help the Blues against the league leaders.

However, Garnacho was the first player Maresca turned to on his bench with the winger coming on at half-time in place of Estevao.

In addition to his defensive work, Garnacho's speed on the break helped Chelsea retain a threat against Arsenal.

Perceptions of Garnacho are likely to remain coloured for some time by his spell at Man United, as evidenced by one pundit recently criticising how he dresses when turning up for matches.

However, Maresca spoke of Garnacho's desire to learn and described the winger as being 'easy to work with' earlier this month.

'He can give much more, but it's not only Alejandro. I think all the players, we try to work every day with them to improve,' Maresca said.

'It's been easy to work with him because he wants to learn, has an open mind, and works hard on and off the ball.

Perceptions of Garnacho remain from his time at Man United with a pundit recently criticising how he dresses when arriving for matches

Maresca has described Garnacho as being 'easy to work with', challenging the publicly held view of the winger

'Some games he is better, some games he has struggled a little bit, but overall he is doing very well.'

Maresca's comments lend weight to a view from those who know Garnacho well, who had suggested to Daily Mail Sport earlier this year that he has been deeply misunderstood and does not possess the ego many online purport him to have.

Garnacho had returned the compliment to Maresca earlier this month by expressing how the Italian speaks with him 'every week' and is helping to build his confidence. The 21-year-old declared that he had 'no regrets' about leaving Man United and believes Chelsea can help him to 'show people the player I am'.

Garnacho will have a further cause to push to make the position on Chelsea's left wing his own with the World Cup on the horizon.

The 21-year-old faces an uphill battle to force his way into Argentina's World Cup squad ahead of their title defence in the United States, Canada and Mexico last summer.

Garnacho had been frustrated after missing out on their squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when his impressive form as an 18-year-old at Man United had not been enough earn inclusion at the last minute.

With his Man United career having hit the buffers last season, Garnacho's last appearance for the national team came in November 2024.

If Garnacho is to avoid missing out on a second consecutive World Cup, continued progress at Chelsea and grabbing headlines - of the right kind - will be essential.