Why Chelsea Signed Alejandro Garnacho & What They Hope He Offers

Chelsea signing Alejandro Garnacho has proved to be a controversial signing with the Argentine forward bringing an interesting reputation with him to Stamford Bridge. After being frozen out completely by Manchester United, we’ve decided to look at why the Blues have made this signing, and what they’ll hope it accomplishes.

The Numbers Behind Chelsea Signing Alejandro Garnacho

The Data

Garnacho is a left winger/left inside forward option who has a large sample size at the Premier League level. What stands out about him, and likely made him attractive to his new club, is a variety of statistical outliers. One of the biggest one being progressive carries.

In Enzo Maresca’s system the winger on the left is often asked to stay wide and carry the ball, taking on a defender and causing trouble by stretching the opposition defenders. Their new signing looks like a strong fit for that spot as he is in the 96th percentile for progressive carries against other attackers in Europe’s top five leagues, averaging 5.79 per 90.

An interesting wrinkle that he can add is how often he makes off-ball runs in and around the box. He had 7.62 touches in the opposition penalty area per 90 and received 12.17 progressive passes per 90. Statistically speaking, he is one of the best in his position at both. This means that left-sided players like Marc Cucurella or Enzo Fernandez will have Garnacho making runs directly at the opposing penalty area to pick out, instead of him just staying wide as a carrier. It adds another possible dimension to an already loaded attack.

The Shooting Numbers

One of the issues with the Blues last season was their lack of shooting from the attackers. Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson were capable of letting it fly, Noni Madueke soon brought his numbers up, too. With Madueke sold and Estevao coming in as an adequate replacement on the right, it left a question about the left, where Jadon Sancho and Christopher Nkunku had looked largely ineffective.

Garnacho’s shooting numbers are superior to Madueke’s in terms of volume, his 3.66 shots per 90 put him in the 98th percentile among his peers, meaning he will likely add a more direct goalscoring threat from the left than his predecessors.

Where this could end up being a bad move on paper is that the 21-year-old was not able to convert these shots into goals. He created a very strong 0.32 non-penalty xG, but underperformed that by scoring just 0.21 per 90, putting him in the bottom 33 of wingers/inside forwards. His expected assists and actual assists per 90 were also fairly mediocre, but could improve in Maresca’s system.

What Chelsea Need From Him

The club’s idea is pretty clear this season: Estevao, Palmer, Joao Pedro, and others will be favouring the right-hand side or the central areas. The team’s main attacking outlets and creativity, for most matches, will steer away from the left-hand side. What this means is the left-winger will be asked to stay wide and stretch opponents, pouncing on chances from cross-field balls or through balls from the left.

Jamie Gittens was signed from Borussia Dortmund to occupy this role with his raw pace and shot volume but his debut against Crystal Palace proved he is still too raw to start at this level. That’s where Garnacho can come in; he is a proven top division player who will settle in far quicker.

With his statistical ability to receive progressive passes and get into the box, as well as his underrated ability to arrive at the far post on crosses, he could prove to be a lethal weapon on the left-hand side. One that isn’t asked to be creative in all phases but offers a goalscoring threat in a position that lacked it last term.