Alejandro Garnacho's 'attitude' key to Aston Villa freeze-out - ex-Villa employee

Alejandro Garnacho's struggle for minutes at Aston Villa this season is likely to be linked to "attitude" issues.

That is according to former senior Villa scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.

The 22-year-old joined the Villans from Chelsea in the summer, signing initially on loan with an conditional obligation to buy worth around £43million next summer.

Garnacho suffered a slight knock in pre-season and has seriously struggled to find his way onto the pitch for Villa since, spending the last four consecutive games sat on the bench.

The situation has some similarities to the Harvey Elliott situation last season, which saw the midfielder completely dropped from the team as Villa looked to avoid paying the obligation.

Unai Emery was a supporter of the signing and it remains unlikely that a similar saga will play out, but it has emerged as a concern.

Alejandro Garnacho 'never looks as though he's enjoying his football'

Garnacho reportedly had attitude issues at Manchester United, and never seemed to settle during his year with Chelsea.

Emery admitted last week that other players have jumped ahead of the Argentine in the pecking order at Villa, and that he will need to earn himself a chance.

"He's a very talented footballer, Garnacho. There's no doubt about that," King told Football Insider. "But when I watched him at Man United, at Chelsea, he never looks as though he's enjoying his football.

"He's always got that miserable face, and when you bring players in like that, you want a player with ability to be playing every week. Just looking at the way he was at Man United, looking at the way he was at Chelsea, he didn't look to me to be the sort of player that I'd want in my football club.

"But, things change in football. As we know, injuries come on, players get chances. But to bring a player of his said quality into a football club and have him sitting on the bench every game.

"He's not injured. So where's the problem? Is it his attitude? Is it the way he is in training? Is it the way he is at the football club? Why is he not one of the first names on the team sheet with his experience?

"It'll be interesting to see exactly what goes on there the next three or four games. Watch this space as they say."

What did Unai Emery say about Garnacho?

The international break will provide a chance for Garnacho to grab Emery's attention and impress him in training.

"Continue working. Work, work, train, work," the Spaniard said last week. "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. [Ibrahim] Mbaye also responded well.

"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."