Surely it cannot be happening again. Aston Villa have already spent one season paying a substantial salary to a loan player they did not want. Would they really repeat that mistake?

‘Harvey Elliott’ is the name people remember when they look at Alejandro Garnacho’s situation at Villa Park. The same terms – loan with a conditional obligation to buy – and the same lack of playing time.

By last autumn, Unai Emery had decided he did not wish to sign Elliott permanently and therefore, under the terms of his loan agreement, he was able to make just nine appearances across that campaign before going back to Liverpool.

At that stage of his Villa career, Elliott had played 118 minutes, even though he joined the club only at the end of the summer 2025 transfer window. Garnacho arrived at Villa Park and has featured for only 31 so far. 

The £43million transfer next summer, as detailed in the loan arrangement with Chelsea and which will happen if certain targets are hit, is already looking unlikely.

There is still plenty of time for Garnacho to alter the course of this story. Villa play two friendlies during the break, one of which is against Sevilla in Spain on October 2. Garnacho owes it to himself to attack this training camp with all his heart. The rest of his time at Villa may depend on it.

Alejandro Garnacho has had a miserable start to life at Aston Villa, featuring for just 31 minutes so far this season

‘We are delighted with Alejandro,’ said Unai Emery at Garnacho’s unveiling. ‘He is so talented.’ But that positivity already feels like ancient history

Why Garnacho?

Not long after the final whistle in Aston Villa’s 3-1 win at Coventry on September 16, Garnacho was heading out of the CBS Arena and en route to the Villa team bus. With Emery making changes for the Carabao Cup clash, many had expected Garnacho to start. He did not even make it on to the pitch.

Any player would be disappointed in that situation, especially one with nearly 200 senior appearances and eight caps for Argentina before the age of 23. It is also understood there were no compulsory post-match exercises as the players were due to train the following morning.

Generally, though, constant application is the route to Emery’s heart as the Spaniard demands ‘serious, mature, responsible’ players.

Emery may not be pitchside after matches but nothing escapes him.

His backroom team will tell him exactly what happened during the post-match running drills: which exercises were performed, which players gave their all, which – if any – were slacking off.

Garnacho was left on the bench at Tottenham three days later, too, and may not even have made the squad had Brazilian winger Alysson been fit.

The attraction of Garnacho is obvious. Even though he struggled at Chelsea last season, between 2023-25 he scored 21 goals and had 17 assists for Manchester United. Emery has wanted an incisive wide attacker ever since he came to Villa and on the face of it, Garnacho ticked the boxes.

Yet the nagging doubt remains: was Emery truly desperate to sign him, the way he was desperate to bring in Morgan Rogers in January 2024, or Marco Asensio on loan a year later, or Nicolas Jackson this summer?

If Emery were, it seems surprising that he would then promote academy prospect George Hemmings above Garnacho and sign off on the £50m deal for Ibrahim Mbaye, who can play on either flank. Not to mention his early-season backing for Alysson.

Not long after the final whistle in Aston Villa’s 3-1 win at Coventry on September 16, Garnacho (pictured the week before) was heading out of the CBS Arena and en route to the Villa team bus

Garnacho stayed in his tracksuit at Tottenham three days later, too, and may not even have made the squad had Brazilian winger Alysson been fit

Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris and Chelsea counterpart Behdad Eghbali are also thought to enjoy good relations though Emery laughed off suggestions last month that the two clubs, both on the naughty step with UEFA for breaching financial rules, would ever help each other. 

‘They want to kill us, and we want to kill them,’ he said. ‘They signed Morgan and Emiliano Martinez to kill us.’

The facts are these: Garnacho joined Villa from Chelsea on July 23, two days after Rogers had moved in the opposite direction for a record £117m. Chelsea and Villa traded four players this summer alone, with Martinez moving to Stamford Bridge along with Rogers, and Jackson joining Garnacho in the West Midlands. Set-piece coach Austin MacPhee swapped Villa for Chelsea, too.

Clubs can deal with one another as they see fit but unless Garnacho starts to play regularly, we will always wonder about the exact circumstances that led him to Villa. 

Can Garnacho turn it around?

After Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, Garnacho is the third player to lose his way at United and turn up at Villa on loan not long afterwards.

The spell at Villa Park in the second half of 2024-25 revived Rashford’s career. Though he could not help Villa qualify for the Champions League, he did enough under Emery to earn a year’s loan at Barcelona and make the England squad for the World Cup. Rashford is now playing for United again, which seemed impossible only a year ago.

On the flipside, Sancho started only nine Premier League games for Villa and is now without a club after leaving Old Trafford last summer. Reports in Russia this week said the 26-year-old was in discussions with top-flight club Krasnodar. Emery had really wanted Rashford; Sancho not so much.

Whose path will Garnacho follow? Playing for Emery can be exhausting but there are still relatively painless ways to impress him. 

Emery has already ticked off Garnacho for dawdling on the touchline when preparing to come on

The Villa boss reignited Marcus Rashford’s career after he fell out of favour at Man United. Can he do the same for Garnacho?

Lucas Digne, for example, won his boss over partly by turning up for extra sessions on his days off. ‘Continue working,’ said Emery when asked how Garnacho can force his way into the team. ‘Work, work, train, work.’

There is another simple rule with Emery: a player can catch the eye as much he likes on the ball but if he does not follow instructions when Villa do not have possession, he will not play very often. 

Emery has already ticked off Garnacho for dawdling on the touchline when preparing to come on and has admitted Garnacho could have done better in his early appearances. These are not good signs.

Listening actively in meetings, both individual and collective, is also key. Emery will explain in painstaking detail what he wants from a player. If he does not deliver it, woe betide him. 

Emery will not tailor his approach to young people with short attention spans. It’s his immersive way – repetitive training sessions, 90-minute video briefings, detailed tactical breakdowns – or nothing. With 12 major trophies to his name, why should he change?

After significant turnover this summer, Emery is relying even more on a cohort of senior players who have been at Villa throughout his time – John McGinn, Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia. They emphasise to new signings exactly what is needed to succeed at the club.

The smart ones listen and learn. There is no suggestion that Garnacho, a shy, quiet individual, is disruptive but clearly he is not doing enough to convince Emery and right now few at Bodymoor Heath can see a path to regular first-team football. 

There is mitigation: Garnacho suffered a nasty facial injury during a pre-season fixture against Thai club BG Pathum United, which slowed his progress and meant he did not feature in the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain. Playing on the wing for Emery is also the most tactically demanding role on the pitch and very few master it immediately.

Daily Mail Sport understands Garnacho scored the only goal in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Southampton yesterday. That won’t do his cause any harm.

Garnacho’s career is still in his own hands – though Sancho’s tale should be fresh in his mind.

There is no suggestion that Garnacho is disruptive but clearly he is not doing enough and right now few at Bodymoor Heath can see a path to regular first-team football

How does the story end?

Watch Garnacho’s first interview at Villa and you will see a player who has lost his way and is fighting to regain it.

‘We are delighted with Alejandro,’ said Emery at the time. ‘He is so talented, young and he showed us his wish to help our project. We are really happy.’

Emery has seen what Garnacho can do. Cash was one of Villa’s best players last season yet when Chelsea hammered them 4-1 at Villa Park, Garnacho gave the right back a chasing. It was a reminder of what he offered during his best spells at United.

‘I was looking for a club to get confidence and to try to be the player I was in my first years at United,’ said Garnacho on the day he joined Villa. ‘I spoke with the manager and I think he will give me the confidence to be here and to help the team.’ Emery and Garnacho were filmed embracing during the video.

Since he crossed swords with former United boss Ruben Amorim, there has been far more focus on Garnacho’s mistakes than his talent – and this is partly his fault. He still has immense raw ability and Emery is exactly the type of coach who can unlock it, as long as they can find a common understanding.

Time is already running out. Daily Mail Sport revealed on September 21 that La Liga clubs are already following the situation, should the loan be cancelled in January. If that happens, it would feel like a huge missed opportunity, for Villa, Emery and most of all Garnacho himself. The ball is in his court.