Better signing than Hato: Chelsea now leading race for £52m PL “nightmare”

This summer has been one to remember for Chelsea.

On the pitch, Enzo Maresca’s side have looked sharp, making their way to the Club World Cup final with ease and then dispatching Paris Saint-Germain in the showpiece event without so much as breaking a sweat.

On top of that, the West Londoners have been active and purposeful in the transfer market, bringing in young, exciting additions to the team, like Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap and most recently Jorrel Hato.

The young Dutchman could end up being an excellent addition to the Blues’ squad, although if reports are anything to go by, the club could be closing in on another talent who might end up being an even better signing.

Chelsea target better signing than Hato

Chelsea have been linked with Hato for some time now, with some reports touting the Dutchman for a move to Stamford Bridge as far back as the winter window.

However, it was over the last couple of weeks that the Conference League champions really stepped up their interest in the young defender, and, ahead of rivals like Arsenal, secured his services for a fee of around £37m.

As things stand, this looks like a brilliant bit of business from the West Londoners, but it looks like they are already working on another, potentially better signing this summer.

At least that is according to a recent report from Caught Offside, which has reaffirmed Chelsea’s serious interest in Alejandro Garnacho.

The report has revealed that Manchester United are ‘now looking to make around €50-60m’ from the player’s sale, which is between £44m-£53m, and that, as things stand, the Blues have ’emerged as the most serious contender’ for his services.

It would be a lot of money to invest in a player the Red Devils are seemingly intent on selling, but there is serious potential in Garnacho, and there is every chance that he could end up being a better signing than Garnacho this summer.

Why Garnacho would be a better signing than Hato

Okay, so we have to first say that we do really believe that Hato is a brilliant signing for Chelsea, and that he could develop into a massively important defender for them in the coming years.

However, goals win games, exciting players get fans on their feet, and, for our money, Garnacho has the potential to be an even better signing for the club, at least this season anyway.

One of the main reasons the Argentine could be even more important than the Dutchman is that, somewhat surprisingly, it does feel like the West Londoners could do with some reinforcements off the left and in central areas.

For example, after Cole Palmer, Maresca isn’t blessed with an abundance of exciting back-up options to fill in as the ten, and with Noni Madueke gone, and Tyrique George reportedly keen to leave, new signing Jaime Gittens could do with some more competition and back-up on the left flank.

However, away from purely plugging gaps when and where they arise, the Madrid-born attacker could be a great signing because he is a supremely talented player and someone who, with the right coaching and in the right environment, could develop into something quite special.

For example, despite starting last season as a 20-year-old and playing in a historically poor United side, the “full-back’s nightmare,” as dubbed by former Manchester United winger Febian Brandy, scored 11 goals and provided ten assists in 58 appearances, totalling 3,568 minutes.

In other words, the young dynamo was able to maintain an average of a goal involvement every 2.76 games, or more impressively, every 169.90 minutes for a team that looked unable to buy a win for large swathes of the campaign.

Moreover, he is capable of the extraordinary at times, as you only have to look at his 2024 Puskas Award-winning goal against Everton, in which he pulled off one of the best bicycle kicks we’ve ever seen.

Ultimately, there is an element of risk in signing a player who’d fallen out with his coach so publicly, but Garnacho has the raw ability to develop into a superstar, and given Chelsea’s attacking needs, we reckon he could end up being a better signing than Hato this summer.