Garnacho joins Chelsea in a £40m deal

Chelsea have signed Alejandro Garnacho in a £40m transfer from Manchester United, taking their summer spend to nearly £300m.

The 21-year-old winger becomes Chelsea’s ninth arrival, joining new attackers Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Estevao and Jamie Gittens, and increases their outlay to £296.8m.

Chelsea, though, have recouped £314.4m in sales with 26 players exiting the club either in permanent transfers or on loan.

A compromise over Garnacho’s valuation had to be reached as United valued him at £50m, which was more than Chelsea were prepared to pay.

United negotiated the fee up from an initial Chelsea offer of £25m and are understood to feel it is a good, pragmatic deal, delivering their largest sale fee for five years. They also believe it is a good solution for the player, who has been pushing strongly to leave.

The deal, which includes a 10 per cent sell-on fee, represents the fourth-largest sale in United’s history after those of Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku and Angel Di Maria – and the club’s largest sale of an academy graduate.