Chelsea’s £40m signing told he needs to ‘put his ego in check’ | Football

Shaun Wright-Phillips said Alejandro Garnacho needs to ‘put his ego in check’ and be more consistent if he wants to turn around his mixed start to life at Chelsea.

Garnacho moved to Stamford Bridge for £40million last summer after being frozen out by then-head-coach Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.

And while the Argentine has shown flashes of his capabilities under both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior, the 21-year-old has scored just once in 23 Premier League appearances this campaign.

Wright-Phillips, who featured 125 times for the Blues in all competitions, has said Garnacho has to work much harder on his game and insisted his current levels of performance are simply ‘not good enough’.

‘I feel like he may need to put his ego a little bit in check,’ Wright-Phillips told Sky Bet.

‘Because in a Premier League, a half season or one season is not good enough. To be at a level where people want to buy you, it has to be a consistent thing.

‘It’s okay scoring sometimes, but I know the Chelsea fans, the least they need from you is 110%. If they see you working that hard for that badge, they will back you.

‘I don’t know whether that’s tactically, or whether he’s not happy, but they got nearly six or seven wingers, so he’s gonna have to do something because Gittens might just switch on at any given point.’

Speaking earlier this year, Garnacho admitted that this Chelsea can improve, telling Premier League Productions: ‘We know the team we have, the things we can do. Sometimes is better in some moments, and worse. But yeah, I’m really proud to be here in this moment.

‘But yeah, at United have nothing wrong to say about the club or any teammates, no one. Just a moment on life changed. My life continued. So we have to keep looking forward.’

Meanwhile, Wright-Phillips has insisted Cole Palmer needs to be freed from his defensive responsibilities to get the talismanic midfielder back to his best form.

‘I think at times when I watch him, for someone with so much ability, I don’t want him near my box,’ he added.

‘If anything, he’s that player that if you had the team behind him, you could make him cheat a little bit, because you want him in a position where he’s close to the striker that can play those passes.

‘I just think they need to find a way to play him as the number 10, because he is the maverick that you need, and in many ways, I feel like a player of his calibre and what he’s done at this short time there, they should try to build a team around him.’

Chelsea return to league action when they host Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge on Monday afternoon.

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