Revealed: Why Alejandro Garnacho's proposed transfer to Napoli fell through after Italian giants tabled 'important bid' for Man Utd winger

The Argentine winger was one of the most in-demand young players during the winter transfer window, with clubs such as Tottenham, Chelsea, and Napoli expressing strong interest. Napoli ramped up their efforts to sign the 19-year-old following the departure of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris Saint-Germain in a £59m ($73m) deal.

It was reported that United turned down an initial £40 million ($50.05m) offer from Napoli, despite rumours of Garnacho’s strained relationship with United head coach Ruben Amorim. Now, Giovanni Manna has revealed that the Italian club tried their best to bring Garnacho to Naples but could not agree to personal terms with the Argentine.

"We made an important bid to Manchester United for Garnacho. We really wanted him," the Napoli sporting director told reporters, via the Daily Mail. "We weren’t able to agree on personal terms with Alejandro, he requested an important salary to leave in January and we must respect our players."

Tensions between Amorim and Garnacho reportedly escalated in December, when the winger was unexpectedly dropped from the squad alongside Marcus Rashford ahead of a highly anticipated clash with Manchester City. However, Garnacho eventually fought his way back into the starting lineup and has since established himself as a regular fixture in United’s attack. He featured for the full 90 minutes in the Red Devils’ 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Despite the speculation surrounding his future, Garnacho has remained a key figure for United, featuring in 36 matches across all competitions this season. The young attacker has contributed eight goals and six assists, proving his value to the team. However, his last goal for Manchester United came back in November, during a 3-2 Europa League victory against Bodo/Glimt at Old Trafford. With United set to face Leicester City in the FA Cup on Friday, Garnacho will be hoping to end his goal drought and reaffirm his importance to the team.