Alejandro Garnacho makes incredibly honest admission in first interview as an Aston Villa player

In his first interview since joining Aston Villa, Alejandro Garnacho admitted he is determined to rediscover his confidence and become "the player I was in my first years at Manchester United".

On Thursday afternoon, Villa announced the signing of Garnacho on a season-long loan from Chelsea.

The deal is said to include a £43million conditional obligation-to-buy clause based on how many appearances Garnacho makes. Last season, the Argentine scored eight goals in 43 games across the 2025-26 campaign.

The 22-year-old winger, who joined the Blues from Manchester United in August for around £40million, has a big fan in Villa manager Unai Emery.

"We are delighted with Alejandro. He is so talented, young and he showed us his wish to help our project," said Emery, who guided the club to a Europa League win last season. "We are really happy."

Alejandro Garnacho makes honest admission in first interview as an Aston Villa player

Speaking in an interview with Aston Villa's official media channel, Garnacho mentioned the word "confidence" on several occasions.

Asked what it was about Villa that made him feel like it was the right move, Garnacho said: "I think I was looking for a club to get confidence, and try to be the player that I was years ago, from my first years at (Manchester) United.

"I spoke with the manager and he gave me that confidence to be here and try to help the team."

Garnacho was also asked about the opportunity to work alongside manager Unai Emery, adding: "Obviously, with Unai, I spoke before I came here. He gave me the confidence, so that's why I'm here."

Touching on how he would describe himself as a player, the Argentine once again mentioned confidence.

"I'm a winger, I play on the left wing, right-footed. I like to run, dribble, cross, come inside and shoot," he continued. "I think it's the only thing I need to get my confidence back properly and perform on the pitch."

READ MORE: Xabi Alonso directly addressed Garnacho's future after pre-season training absence

Garnacho will be hoping to improve his output in the coming months. Last season, he scored just one goal in 24 Premier League appearances for Chelsea as he struggled for regular first-team minutes.

Chelsea chasing deal to sign World Cup record-breaker who could replace Alejandro Garnacho

A summer rebuild has begun at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea confirming five new arrivals in recent weeks, including Geovany Quenda, Denner, Dastan Satpaev, Emmanuel Emegha and Marco Palestra.

They are also chasing another youngster, according to Faktor, who claim Xabi Alonso is targeting a move for Bayer Leverkusen wonderkid Kerim Alajbegovic.

The teenager made World Cup history for Bosnia and Herzegovina this summer, when his strike against Qatar made him the youngest player to score from outside the penalty area since 1966.

Alajbegovic was selected for the World Cup after a standout campaign at Red Bull Salzburg, where he recorded nine goals and three assists in the Austrian Bundesliga.

He moved to Salzburg before rejoining Leverkusen in March after they triggered a buyback clause in his contract.