Aston Villa have signed Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho on loan from Chelsea, adding the 22-year-old to Unai Emery’s squad for a season that includes Champions League football.
Garnacho moves to Villa Park from a Chelsea side without European competition this season. The deal was completed just days after Morgan Rogers made the opposite journey, leaving Aston Villa for Chelsea in a transfer that set a record fee for an English player.
The winger previously represented Spain at youth level but later chose Argentina. He was not selected for Argentina’s World Cup squad, although his eight senior appearances include a place in the team that won the 2024 Copa América.
Garnacho was still a Manchester United player during that Copa América campaign. He subsequently joined Chelsea for 40 million pounds, or $53 million, and spent one season with the club.
That season brought considerable change at Chelsea. Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior were both fired as the 2025 Club World Cup winner finished 10th in England’s top division.
Aston Villa enter their fifth season under Emery after finishing fourth in the Premier League and winning the Europa League title. Garnacho’s arrival gives Villa another attacking option as the club returns to Champions League competition.
Nottingham Forest also completed a midfield signing, bringing in Austria international Xaver Schlager as a free agent. Schlager agreed a two-year contract after his deal with Leipzig expired.
“This was another big reason why I wanted to come here,” Schlager said in a statement released by Forest.
Schlager is viewed as a likely replacement for England midfielder Elliot Anderson, who joined Manchester City this month. Anderson’s move briefly established a record price for an English player before Chelsea surpassed it with the deal for Rogers.