Three Champions League clubs reportedly decided against signing Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho this summer. According to the Manchester Evening News, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, and Tottenham Hotspur conducted due diligence on the outcast before deciding to pursue other attacking options.

Both Spurs and Arsenal have shown interest in Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze, with Arsenal already securing the services of winger Noni Madueke from Chelsea.

Tottenham have also been in talks about potentially acquiring Savinho from Manchester City. Atletico, Garnacho's former club, considered bringing back the Argentine international but instead opted for Villarreal's Alex Baena.

Chelsea are currently leading the race to sign Garnacho. His agents, Carlos Cambeiro and Enrique de Lucas, visited the Blues during the January transfer window, with De Lucas having played for the Club World Cup winners in the 2002-03 season.

United's head coach Ruben Amorim told Garnacho he was free to leave in May. Amorim was displeased when Garnacho, aged 22, questioned his future and expressed dissatisfaction about being relegated to the bench following the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham.

Garnacho and Marcus Rashford were dropped by Amorim in only his seventh match in charge at Manchester City on December 15. The coach was unhappy with Garnacho's lack of focus as he prepared to come on against Victoria Plzen in the Europa League three days earlier.

"I think [with] Garnacho, you can understand and you can see, he's talented, he's a really talented boy," Amorim said last month. "And sometimes things don't work out. You cannot explain specifically what it is.

"But I have the feeling, I think it's clear that Garnacho wants a different thing with a different leadership. And I can understand that. So I think it's not a problem.

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"Sometimes you adapt to one guy, you have the connection. Other times, you want a new challenge. So, we try to make everything okay to all the parts. To the club, to the coach and to the players. So, it's a natural thing in football."

Garnacho funded a squad meal as an apology after he stormed down the tunnel following his first half substitution during the home loss to Ipswich Town in February.

Following United's return from their post-season tour of Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, Garnacho shared an Instagram story marking his homecoming from the six-day trip.

A month afterwards, Garnacho wore an Aston Villa jersey bearing Rashford's name and uploaded it to his Instagram profile.

United insiders have recognised that Garnacho's brother, Roberto, has also stirred controversy through multiple social media rants.

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Garnacho was absent from United's pre-season tour of the United States due to his desire to depart, and he has been instructed to attend training sessions separately from the first team group at the club's Carrington training ground.

Since his transfer from Atletico Madrid's academy in 2020, Garnacho has been a key player for United, making 144 appearances and netting 28 goals.

He was instrumental in United's FA Youth Cup victory against Nottingham Forest in 2022 and also found the back of the net in the 2024 FA Cup final against Manchester City.

Garnacho made his first team debut under Ralf Rangnick in April 2022 and was subsequently included in Erik ten Hag's pre-season tour squad that summer. However, he didn't feature in any of the four tour friendlies after turning up late for a team meeting.

Despite this setback, Garnacho reported for pre-season training earlier than expected that summer, following his representation of Argentina in the Toulon Tournament. He made his full United debut against FC Sheriff in the Europa League in October 2022.