Aston Villa could complete Alejandro Garnacho deal and then sell him immediately for 'profit' - top source

Aston Villa are likely to sell winger Alejandro Garnacho next summer if they trigger their conditional obligation to buy him during his current loan deal.

That is according to former Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that all options remain on the table in terms of how his former club handle the 22-year-old.

Garnacho's loan from Chelsea will become permanent once he triggers the appearance-based clause in the deal, but he has still played just 31 minutes of Premier League football so far this season.

Wyness believes that Villa should be able to drum up interest in Garnacho from foreign clubs if needed, as he feels that his reputation remains strong outside England.

Unai Emery will be hoping that he can spark an upturn in form from the winger in the coming weeks, or there is a serious threat that he won't be involved moving forward.

Villa struck a similar deal with Harvey Elliott last term, only to drastically limit his minutes throughout the campaign to ensure they didn't trigger their purchase obligation.

Aston Villa may commit to Alejandro Garnacho

Villa's former chief Wyness - who served as CEO at Villa Park between 2016 and 2018 and now runs a consultancy business advising elite clubs - believes that Villa may have to just commit to playing Garnacho.

The loan deal with Chelsea does not contain an exit clause for the January window, meaning that there is no way for the deal to end prematurely.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness suggested that Emery and Co. may use Garnacho as a trading piece next summer.

"Two things I suppose you could do right now if I was in that position and I was speaking to the manager and we were discussing the options," he said.

"One is we buy him, and we sell him on. It's not impossible that the Garnacho name could attract some interest from overseas. So you could actually buy him, take the price that you've agreed on, and then sell him on. 

"Hopefully make a profit. That's one thing. And then the other thing is, of course, to play him and actually see if he can make it work.

"Emery, having known him, will have a deep understanding of how he sees this panning out and will know which of those options to play with. But he's got those sort of options at his disposal, and he's going to have to make a quick decision."

Garnacho is a 'bad influence' at Aston Villa

Wyness previously told Football Insider that he would not be surprised if Garnacho is becoming a "bad influence" in the Villa dressing room.

The Scottish businessman is adamant that you do not want an asset of that quality "sitting around" and not playing, as his attitude could rub off on the other players.

Wyness believes that Garnacho will be "frustrated" with his lack of gametime, just as any player would be in his situation.

The Argentine scored in the recent friendly against Sevilla during the international break, but it doesn't appear to have bought him any extra credit with Emery.