Alejandro Garnacho made a £40million move from Manchester United to Chelsea this summer, and it appears as though the Argentinian is finding his stride both on and off the pitch under Enzo Maresca
Aaron Morris Senior Sports Reporter
16:03, 25 Nov 2025
Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens had a friendly tunnel exchange(Image: X)
Alejandro Garnacho was spotted encouraging Jamie Gittens as the two walked down the tunnel at Turf Moor on Saturday.
Gittens was drafted into Enzo Maresca’s starting XI ahead of the Argentinian forward for Chelsea’s clash with Burnley, but rather than spit the dummy out, the 21-year-old showed maturity with a gesture as the two walked down the tunnel for the second-half.
Garnacho was walking ahead of the Englishman, when Gittens appeared to call him before making a cheeky gesture with his fingers towards his eyes to joke he was watching him. Garnacho replied with a smile and a gesture of his own as they walked out of shot of TV cameras.
Despite failing to make an appearance in the game from the bench, Garnacho was also quick to approach the away end of Turf Moor after Chelsea’s 2-0 win to thank fans for making the long trip to the north west from the English capital.
And when Gittens took to Instagram in the aftermath of the game to mark his appearance against Burnley with a carousel of photographs, Garnacho was once again fast to show his support with a glowing comment. On the post, Garnacho wrote: “Jammmieeee,” with a starry-eyed emoji, to which, Gittens responded: “My brother,” with a fingers crossed emoji and a love heart.
As a result, it seems as though Garnacho is not only finding his stride on the pitch, but it also forging strong relationships with his new team-mates off it. Since making a £40million move from Manchester United this summer, Garnacho has racked up two goals and two assists from 10 appearances across all competitions.
Meanwhile, Maresca was also quick to praise the talent earlier this month. He said of Garnacho: “He arrived here from another club where he was not training 100 per cent so his physical condition was not good.
Alejandro Garnacho moved to Chelsea this summer(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
“Slowly, slowly, now it’s better. He’s doing very well on the ball but he’s doing very, very well off the ball. He knows that to play with us he has to be good on the ball and off the ball otherwise he’s not going to play. We are very happy with him at this moment.”
It’s a polar opposite state of affairs to how Garnacho was faring with United earlier this season. After falling out of favour under Ruben Amorim, Garnacho lambasted the club’s lacklustre 15th-place finish in the Premier League.
He was also upset at losing the Europa League final to a similarly-struggling Tottenham at the time. He said in May: “It’s difficult for all of us. This season has been s***. We lost the final, we didn’t beat anyone in PL. It’s very difficult.”
It comes as United could have seemingly used some of Garnacho’s creativity on Monday night, with the Reds struggling to create chances against a 10-man Everton at Old Trafford. Despite having a numerical advantage as a result of Idrissa Gueye’s red card for slapping team-mate, Michael Keane, just 13 minutes into the match, United struggled to crack the code of David Moyes’ rejuvenated outfit.
Ruben Amorim fielded Joshua Zirkzee on Monday(Image: Getty Images)
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall stole the game for the visitors 29 minutes into the match, with his goal ultimately deciding the fixture as a result of a Jordan Pickford masterclass. United will also be feeling the sting of mid-season injuries, given they had to rely on Joshua Zirkzee for the duration as a result of Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko sitting sidelined.
Zirkzee has struggled to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League since making the move from Bologna last summer, scoring just three goals in the English top flight last season. It will be interesting to see how Amorim adapts in the coming weeks, given Sesko is expected to be out of action until December.
It is also unknown as to when Cunha will return to action, after suffering a knock in training last week. United next face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park come Sunday, November 30.
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