Alejandro Garnacho is being monitored by La Liga clubs as his loan spell at Aston Villa stutters, having played just 31 minutes under manager Unai Emery.
The Argentine winger joined Villa on a season-long loan from Chelsea during the summer transfer window, with the deal including a permanent £43million clause if specific performance targets are met. Chelsea describe those target conditions as easily achievable.
Aston Villa, based at Villa Park in Birmingham, brought in Garnacho to bolster their attacking options. However, the attacker is yet to start a competitive match for the club and has played only 31 minutes of action overall.
He has been an unused substitute in each of Villa's last two matches and may not even have made the bench for their 3-2 victory at Tottenham Hotspur had Brazilian winger Alysson not been ruled out with an injury.
At this stage, there are no thoughts from any of the relevant parties about changing the conditions of the loan deal. Nevertheless, clubs in Spain's top flight are watching the situation closely.
Although Garnacho is an Argentina international, he was born in Madrid and spent time in the Atletico Madrid academy before moving to Manchester United in 2020, aged 16.
Competition for attacking places
Garnacho was signed to play on the left wing for Aston Villa. However, youngster George Hemmings has made outstanding progress and is now ahead of him in Emery's squad hierarchy.
The forward also faces competition from Emi Buendia and Ibrahim Mbaye. In addition, John McGinn can operate across the attacking line, while Alysson has also made considerable strides in his development.
Unai Emery guidance and upcoming plans
Emery outlined what Garnacho must do to earn selection when speaking after Aston Villa secured a victory against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup, England's secondary domestic knockout competition.
"Continue working. Work, work, train, work," said Emery when asked about Garnacho after Villa's win at Coventry in the Carabao Cup.
"When he can have minutes to play, try to play well. He is progressing, but we have players in front of him now."
"George Hemmings is playing fantastic. Alysson is also understanding things well and is giving us things I want. Mbaye also responded well," Emery added.
"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."
These are still early days in the season, and if Garnacho shines during Villa's training camp in Seville during the international break, his chance may come in October and November.
