Alejandro Garnacho And The Harvey Elliott Aston Villa Fiasco As Unai Emery Issues Update

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Alejandro Garnacho has had to settle for a total of 31 minutes across three appearances since joining Aston Villa on loan from Chelsea

Alejandro Garnacho could only watch on from the substitutes' bench on Wednesday evening as Aston Villa defeated Coventry City 3-1 in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

A game in which many would have expected him to start amid the opportunity for Unai Emery to rotate, the winger missed out on the starting XI despite a total of seven changes from last weekend's defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Emery did in fact use all five of his allotted substitutions in the second half, with Garnacho snubbed for game time and remaining on the Villa bench for the entirety of the match at the CBS Arena.

After a difficult first season at Chelsea with only 22 starts coming his way from 43 appearances in all competitions, a loan switch to Villa Park looked ideal for the 22-year-old as he looks to become a Premier League star once again.

That has not turned out to be the case so far after making three appearances from the bench since joining from Chelsea.

His loan move contains an obligation to buy for £43m if certain conditions, which are believed to be 'easily achievable', are met.

Many fans have already compared Garnacho's current situation to that of Harvey Elliott, who endured a nightmare time in the Midlands last season as he found himself out of the picture altogether due to an obligation clause in his loan deal that would become permanent if he made 10 Premier League appearances for Villa.

Emery stated in January that the club were "not convinced" two months ago to sign the Liverpool player permanently, thus leading to him only playing in nine fixtures across the campaign.

Twelve months on, Garnacho currently finds himself in an awkward position for regular Aston Villa appearances as he has John McGinn, George Hemmings, Ibrahim Mbaye and Alysson ahead of him for a spot on the wing right now, with Emiliano Buendia likely to add to the options out wide once the team has sufficient cover at No.10.

Garnacho's Villa predicament will become much clearer in the weeks ahead as they do have a busy schedule to come with Champions League and Carabao Cup fixtures on the agenda on top of their Premier League fixtures.

For his sake, he needs regular minutes to come his way or it could be another season to forget.

Alejandro Garnacho's 2026/27 season in numbers:

- Appearances: 3 - Starts: 0 - Minutes: 31 - Unused substitute: 3

Garnacho was a topic of choice in Emery's post-match press conference as the Villa boss was quizzed on his decision not to field his winger at all.

The Spaniard outlined the importance of working hard but he did also stress that patience is required.

> “Continue working. Work, work, train, work,” he explained when asked what Garnacho needs to do to get back in the team.

> “When he can have minutes to play, try and play well. He is progressing, but we have players in front of him now.

> “George is playing fantastic. Alysson is also understanding things well and is giving us things I want. Mbaye also responded well.

> “We want a competitive team and players to compete in the style we have. Garnacho is a little bit behind because of some circumstances we had in pre-season. It is time to be patient for the time he needs.”

Aston Villa need something to save their season, and it's time for Unai Emery to unleash one star.

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