Erik ten Hag makes brutal Garnacho admission that sums up exactly why Unai Emery won’t play him at Aston Villa

Erik ten Hag has revealed he tried to sign Alejandro Garnacho during his ill-fated spell at Bayer Leverkusen, but has highlighted the issues the player has.

The Argentinian has struggled to find a starting spot at three different teams across the last two years, moving from Manchester United to Chelsea and now Aston Villa.

The mercurial forward could delight and infuriate in equal measure during his time at Old Trafford, with his former coach Ten Hag saying "I regret where he is now".

Ten Hag tried to persuade troubled Garnacho to make Bayer Leverkusen switch

Just after former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag looked to make a new start at Bayer Leverkusen for the 2025/2026 season, his former charge Garnacho fell out with successor Ruben Amorim found himself moving toward the exit door at Old Trafford.

Now, in a new interview with The Athletic, the Dutchman has said he made contact with his former man in a bid to make a transfer happen during that period.

The forward had pulled off some spectacular moments for the Reds, including an overhead kick against Everton in the league, as well as curling the ball into the corner from outside the box against Leicester - but had his fair share of lacklustre performances too.

Garnacho found himself surplus to requirements towards the end of the 2024/2025 season, which is when Ten Hag made contact with the disillusioned forward.

Read more: Erik ten Hag reveals 'very weird' Jadon Sancho request that played role in his Man Utd exit

“I regret where he is now. I told him, ‘Come to Leverkusen’. But luckily he didn't. He wanted to stay in England. I understand, the best league, so he denied,” Ten Hag told The Athletic.

“He's a character, you have to manage him, but I had a strong connection with him.

“But it's also up to him, of course, but he needs a coach, a particular coach, who will give him trust, who will give him love. He needs the love, definitely. But he's an amazing player. What's so special about him is he can run all day, high volume at really high speed, all game, back and forth.

“Sometimes his head is not on defending. So mentally, his mindset, you have to make sure he is focused and disciplined and does the job every transition, but he's capable of doing it and attacking-wise he can go forward and do incredible things, making dribbles, finishing. He can do the final pass, but sometimes he's a little bit selfish, but you balance this.”

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Garnacho eventually made the decision to move to Chelsea for the 2024/2025 season, where things didn’t get much better.

The Argentinian made 24 appearances but scored just one goal, before then being loaned to Aston Villa the following year. He’s so far played for just 42 minutes across four appearances for Unai Emery’s team, and hasn’t appeared in the league since September 5.

With minutes limited, the Argentine might find himself recalled by Chelsea and sold on to a different club, either in the January or summer transfer windows - potential suitors could be found either in Turkey with Galatasaray, Como in Italy or even the Saudi Pro League, with reports suggesting he may be tempted by a big-money move to the Middle East.

However, the forward might count himself lucky he didn’t join Ten Hag at Leverkusen in the end. The Dutchman joined at the end of May 2025, but was sacked just two months into the job after falling out with both players and staff.