Is Garnacho living up to early promise?

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Alejandro Garnacho has multiple tattoos depicting Stranger Things - his favourite show - but unlike many of its characters, he is being forced to wait for his coming-of-age journey at Chelsea.

The 21-year-old is struggling to stand out among the cast at Stamford Bridge, having been linked with a transfer away and having drawn criticism for his lack of output in attack and for switching off defensively.

Garnacho has started just seven of Liam Rosenior's first 20 games in charge, with opportunities often coming in cup games against lesser opposition such as Pafos, Charlton, Hull City and Wrexham.

His best moment this season came in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at home to Arsenal, when he struck twice as his side were beaten 3-2, eventually losing the tie 4-2 on aggregate.

He is currently averaging one goal every 4.6 games - a slight improvement on his return of one goal every 5.5 games for Manchester United across all competitions.

Eight goals and four assists in 37 appearances this season is a reasonable tally. However, a return of just one strike in 20 Premier League appearances, while underperforming his expected-goals figure of 3.11 from 28 shots, paints a less encouraging picture.

He has also been criticised for switching off at set-pieces and failing to track back in Chelsea's league defeats by Brentford, Bournemouth and West Ham.

Garnacho acknowledged he is yet to reach his peak in a recent interview with Premier League Productions, adding: "There's a lot more to come, this is just the start.

"I joined two months after the rest without a pre-season and then you also need time to adapt to a different club. Sometimes the first season is harder, but I will work very hard in the games we have left.

"I know what I can do and the most important thing is having the confidence in the player I can be. Of course, in football you have to show it so that's what I have to do."

Yet the statistics suggest the Argentina international is hardly moving forward quickly, following the early promise of his Manchester United debut at the age of 17 in 2022.

Read Nizaar Kinsella's full article here