Alejandro Garnacho told he must 'learn and mature' at Chelsea after being bombed out of Man Utd as ex-Blues boss explains how star can become a £40m 'bargain'

Having once been the hottest prospects at Old Trafford, Argentina international Garnacho finds himself taking on a new Premier League challenge at 21 years of age. Chelsea are prepared to wipe his professional slate clean in west London.

Questions have been asked of Garnacho’s attitude, as he fell out with former boss Ruben Amorim, but there is no doubting that a potential match-winner has arrived at Stamford Bridge. It is now up to Enzo Maresca to bring the best out of an enigmatic talent.

Roberto Di Matteo has no concerns regarding Garnacho’s character, with the Chelsea legend - speaking in association with BetVictor Online Casino - telling GOAL: "I don’t think he can rock the boat at Chelsea, there is a good group, a good team environment. Also, the manager has a good grip on the team.

"Let’s not forget he is only young, 21, so still needs to learn and mature as a person and as a football player. Sometimes when you are young you can make some mistakes, he just needs to learn from that. He’s coming into a team with a good hierarchy, they can help him to fulfil his potential.

"You can see that he has a tonne of potential and if he can manage to grow and develop and become the player that he thinks he is and we all hope he can be, then it becomes a bargain to sign him for that price."

Garnacho will be hoping to grace the 2026 World Cup next summer. New club colleague Cole Palmer is looking to do likewise with England, and Di Matteo is confident that injuries will not hold the Blues’ No.10 back. He said: "The World Cup is 10 months away from now. I don’t think there is a risk. Obviously he needs to stay fit, but it’s part of a player’s life to have some injuries. He doesn’t get major injuries.

"On reflection, the fact that the club played in the summer in the FIFA Club World Cup, it is going to be interesting - not just for Chelsea, but the other teams that were involved in that and made the latter stages of the competition, Real Madrid, PSG and Chelsea - to see what the implications are for the players in the season. We don’t have any data, any historical data, to see what it means because it was the first edition.

"For Cole Palmer, I don’t think we need to be concerned about him. Once he gets into his stride, he is going to show all of the quality and ability that he has."

Palmer has not figured for Chelsea since their opening day 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace. He may also be forced to sit out a derby date with Brentford on Saturday after taking in limited training, but Garnacho is in contention to make his debut.