Why ‘alarm bells should be ringing’ for Alejandro Garnacho as ex-Aston Villa star explains how Unai Emery can get Man Utd & Chelsea flop back on track

There were high hopes for the Madrid-born forward after seeing him graduate out of the fabled academy system at Old Trafford. He was considered to be the hottest of prospects and wanted to model his game on boyhood hero and former Red Devils team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Garnacho did make 144 appearances for United, scoring 26 goals, but never truly unlocked his full potential and tumbled down the pecking order after butting heads with Ruben Amorim. A £40 million ($55m) transfer to Stamford Bridge was sanctioned in the summer of 2025.

A forgettable debut campaign with Chelsea delivered just one Premier League goal, with more questions being asked of Garnacho’s end product and ability to deliver on a consistent basis. Just 12 months have been spent in west London.

That is because he now finds himself at Villa Park. Unai Emery is prepared to take a calculated gamble on a man that has lined up alongside Lionel Messi at international level - but missed out on selection for the 2026 World Cup.

Garnacho needs to deliver for the Villans, with his reputation taking a couple of crushing blows, and he may - like Jadon Sancho before him - struggle to drum up further interest in England if more lines are fluffed in the West Midlands.

Asked if Garnacho is running short on support, and how he can set about restoring some of that, ex-Villa star Houghton - speaking via Oddspedia, a website that provides betting promotions in the United Kingdom - told GOAL: “I've got every respect for the kid but I think the alarm bells should be ringing.

“His closest people, his family and friends, should be telling him that. What they should be saying to him is: ‘Look where you've been, look what's happened to you and look where you are now, there's a reason this is happening and it's down to you now. This is another club that's going to give you a chance. You've got to seize it. No more excuses. No more saying, oh well there's something else at that club and someone else at that club.’

“That's all gone now. It's down to the individual now. It's down to him as a player to seize it, grasp it and when he gets his chance make sure he's ready to take it.

“Emery, he's been brilliant at Villa. I love him. I think he's a fantastic manager. I love his passion. I love his desire and if anyone's going to get the best out of him, I think it would be him.

“I think he'll give him some tough love but there'll be an expectation and you've got to live up to that expectation and you've got to deliver. If you don't deliver, he won't hang about with you. He's not that type of manager. He's not there for sentimentality, he's there because he wants people to be comfortable at the club, be given a chance and take it.

“Look what he's done with [Youri] Tielemans. Tielemans had a great start at Villa, then he went off the boil for a bit. The manager obviously had a word with him and he turned it around. Absolutely outstanding last season and he decided to move on but the manager's seen something in him and trusted him, believed in him and got him back on the path where he should have been.”

Garnacho was not handed a starting berth by Emery for Villa’s opening game of the 2026-27 campaign. He got four minutes off the bench late on as a hugely disappointing 4-0 defeat was suffered away at Brighton.

Things are not about to get any easier for the Villans - who have seen their squad decimated this summer ahead of a return to Champions League competition - with a home date against Premier League title holders Arsenal next on the agenda.