Alejandro Garnach-No: Who Chelsea Could Have Signed Over the Mis-Firing Argentine

Did Chelsea Sign the Wrong Winger? Latest Flop Compared to £30m European Star Available Last January

Wingers are a priceless commodity in the modern game. In the way that football has developed in the last decade or two, particularly thanks to characters such as Lionel Messi, Neymar, Arjen Robben and Mo Salah, wingers now play a more important role than ever before, now taking on goalscoring responsibility to go along with the main job of creating opportunities.

It has become increasingly well known that Chelsea are partial to purchasing wingers – they can’t get enough of them, with three arriving during the summer transfer window alone in Estevao Willian, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho.

However, their enthusiasm for bringing in new wide players appears to have affected their quality assessment, as only Willian Estevao can be classed a success so far, while Gittens has rarely found himself in the starting XI, instead relying upon cameos from the bench, limiting his opportunities to impress.

This has meant that much of the attacking frustration and subsequent criticism have fallen on the head of Garnacho, who signed for £40 million and was tipped to fail before he had even signed, with countless Blues fans (including myself) warning the sporting directors to steer clear.

Naturally, they refused to listen and now are reaping the rewards for their investment: the 21-year-old Argentine has played 29 games in blue and has registered six goals and three assists. While these figures may sound respectable enough, four of his goals have come in the less coveted League Cup, while his disappointing performances of late have meant he has started just once since mid-January in the league.

Did Chelsea Buy the RIGHT Winger?!

Ademola Lookman - £30 million. Alejandro Garnacho - £40 million.

Two left wingers, two similar outputs but two big differences in time-frame and transfer fee.

Lookman, a revelation since pledging himself to the red side of Madrid – 6 G/A in… pic.twitter.com/toUPn9QBUX

— Football Park (@FP_CentreCircle) February 27, 2026

Indecisive, sloppy and boasting little to no end product, Garnacho has been the source of countless Chelsea groans this campaign, and this got us thinking. Which left wingers could Chelsea have gone for instead of Garnacho in the summer, and would they have been more of a hit at Stamford Bridge?

Let’s find out.

Ademola Lookman (28), Atletico Madrid

Starting with our number one choice, Ademola Lookman finally looks like the real deal after unsuccessful Premier League spells at Everton, Fulham and Leicester. Moving abroad to Atalanta, the Nigerian started to work towards his potential and quickly became a key player in Gian Piero Gasperini’s setup.

He would end his stint in Italy with a Europa League winners medal, scoring a hat trick in the final, and a 14th place finish in the 2014 Ballon d’Or rankings, leagues ahead of the level Premier League fans had predicted him to reach.

Ademola Lookman scores his first La Liga goal 💫

Six goal involvements in six Atleti games. pic.twitter.com/AWx3zx2f4y

— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 21, 2026

This season, his consistent excellence was finally recognised by one of Europe’s biggest sides in Atlético Madrid, with Diego Simeone able to acquire the Super Eagles winger for a mere £30 million, literally pennies for a player of Lookman’s quality.

It’s already starting to look like a bargain, as in his first games in Spain, Lookman has four goals and two assists to his name and has immediately become a fan favourite at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Chelsea should have been on this from the start: a confident runner with the ball and excellent in 1v1 situations, Lookman is a similar player to Garnacho, with the key differences being that he has a more muscular build as well as a far superior end product. It makes you wonder what the Chelsea scouts saw in Garnacho to drop £10 million more on him that Atletico paid for Lookman …

Yan Diomande (19), RB Leipzig

A player more aligned with Chelsea’s current recruitment strategy of buying anyone under the age of 21, Diomande has been a revelation over in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig.

Acquired from La Liga side Leganes at the start of the season when the Ivorian had just 10 senior appearances to his name, no one expected the teenager to start, let alone be a resounding success – however, Diomande has wowed all who have watched him.

🇨🇮🪄 Yan Diomande (19) vs Borussia Dortmund. 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/sAEvIV9b7R

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) February 24, 2026

Blindingly quick both on the ball and in his decision-making, the youngster has been tearing up all opposition right backs put before him, his pure electric confidence enough to strip all lines of defence. With nine goals and three assists in his debut season in Germany, his stock has risen tremendously.

Less than 12 months ago, Diomande was valued at around £1 million, a bargain waiting to be spotted. When he was picked up by Leipzig, the fee required to pry him away from Leganes had shot up to £17 million, an exponential rise in his value.

Now, if Chelsea were to enter a bid for him, they would need to start at a minimum of £40 million, the same as what they paid for Garnacho. However, this would be a value-for-money deal – at 19, Diomande already does everything that Garnacho can, arguably better in some aspects, and at such a young age, has even more room to grow. He will be a world beater of the future – it's just a shame that Chelsea’s youth-influenced scouts allowed this young prospect to slip through the net.

Antonio Nusa (20), RB Leipzig

Yep, it’s another RB Leipzig talent, and the very player being used in rotation with Diomande on the left flank. Though one year older than his counterpart, Nusa has had a little bit of a harder time adapting to the top-flight scene in Germany, managing three goals and three assists in 24 games across all competitions.

Extremely highly rated since his early days at Club Brugge, Nusa has all the tools to succeed anywhere – excellent anticipation, superb running both on and off the ball, and silky dribbling skills with the ball at his feet.

Yan Diomandé has the higher ceiling but I am a big fan of Antonio Nusa.

Excellent ball manipulation in congested zones, such intention with every carry; always looking to cause the opponents problems as early as possible.

pic.twitter.com/iCPbGxjG7J

— CounterPressers (@CounterPresser_) January 10, 2026

Moreover, while he isn’t necessarily thriving in a Leipzig shirt, his talent is really starting to come to the fore in the Norway side – in six international caps last season, he bagged two goals and set up a further three goals, virtually equalling his club output for this season.

Not as physically impressive as Diomande, Nusa still has some growing and maturing to do, but there is no doubt that the talent is there – why else would Leipzig have paid £18.2 million for him in the summer of 2024?

A club whose sole focus is on helping young players reach their potential, Chelsea could be the perfect destination for the 20-year-old, and even better, he would represent a more budget-conscious option than Diomande, with a price tag of £27 million, more than within the realms of reason for the free-spending Londoners.

Marcus Rashford (28), Barcelona/Manchester United

Why not? Am I right? Chelsea are a side in desperate need of experienced players, and if this is Premier League experience we are talking about, then even better. Though Rashford may currently be enjoying himself in sunny Spain, it is only a loan spell, leaving more than enough room for an English club to secure his signature before Barca decide they want to keep him permanently.

We all know what Rashford is capable of when motivated, and few know better than Chelsea fans – I still remember that outrageous knuckleball free kick at Stamford Bridge back in 2019.

It was a real shame what transpired under Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford – there was no mutual trust between the two, meaning that when Rashford did play, it looked as if he were playing with a silverback gorilla on his back – it was no wonder he was quickly loaned out to Aston Villa, where, unsurprisingly, he started to find his form.

10 years to the day since Marcus Rashford redefined bursting onto the scene. pic.twitter.com/Wgj6Q6AhFq

— COPA90 (@Copa90) February 25, 2026

With Rashford it’s all about man management – the same pattern has been repeated at Barcelona this season. Playing under a manager who believes in him does wonders for Rashford’s confidence, and his 10 goals and 10 assists this campaign reflect that.

At the age of 28, he is physically in his prime, and in my opinion, he was the far superior option to Garnacho in the summer – goodness knows why we opted against the Englishman.

Valued at a very reasonable £33 million these days, Rashford has unfinished business in the Premier League – no one wants to end their career 13 goals short of the PL 100 club, and with Rosenior now at the helm for Chelsea, Rashford would play under a manager with people skills second to none – it would be a partnership for the ages, if only Chelsea hadn’t missed their opportunity in the summer.