Question one: For 20 marks, analyse the factors around Chelsea's interest in Manchester United attacker Alejandro Garnacho throughout 2025. Reference to case studies and specific examples. Limit: 1,000 words.

Garnachoto Chelsea is one of the 'won't go away' transfer stories of the summer. Despite a host of left-wing signings in the past two months, it has not ended the consideration, only delayed action being taken as a result of it.

From as early as January, Chelsea were thinking about the out-of-favour forward. His position under Ruben Amorim had diminished rapidly and injuries at Stamford Bridge forced creative solutions.

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With Christopher Nkunku wanting out, United having former RB Leipzig chief Christopher Vivell, and both teams keen to find a breakthrough, talks started. They didn't lead anywhere but never truly went away, either.

Neither Garnacho or Nkunku ended the season well and both have long been expected to depart. It won't be part of a swap deal or even two separate transfers between the clubs, but the ball had started to roll.

Even in January, Garnacho's very appearance on Chelsea's shortlist was grating to some. Why was an unwanted 20-year-old for a team struggling in the bottom half viewed as the answer to Enzo Maresca's problems?

Add in some off-field antics (namely posting online ahead of the Europa League final, hinting at being angry at not starting, and wearing a Marcus Rashford Aston Villa shirt on holiday) and poor form, it is not a potential deal that has grown in popularity. Chelsea have already added two players able to operate off the left this summer and are about to bring in another.

At each stage, it seemed to blunt the chances of Garnacho publicly. Internally, it appears to have been a different matter. Garnacho's situation at United means that a cut-price fee for an exciting player with almost 100 Premier League appearances is still on.

Jamie Gittens was one of those looked at in January but no mid-season move was open.He quickly became the priority once June came around and the Club World Cup deadline loomed. From the outside, it was Gittens or Garnacho.

Joao Pedro followed. So far he has mainly been a striker for Maresca but has enough history on the left to be a serious option there when needed. Xavi Simons is still waiting for the green light to travel to England but the process to add him to the stacked frontline is well underway.

If you include Cole Palmer, Estevao Willian, and Pedro Neto, then Chelsea have five players able to work from the left.Simons would be a sixth, Garnacho a seventh. With Pedro, Simons, and Gittens, it is already likely to be £171million spent on players who can feature on the left side this summer.

This is without including Tyrique George, who could yet leave his boyhood club after a breakout year. Nicolas Jackson has played there before but never under Maresca, and it does not seem to be a position he is seen as viable in now.

The caveat to Palmer, Neto, and Estevao is that all favour the right (or, in Palmer's case, the middle). However, in America, Maresca experimented with a much more fluid attack that saw him change the angles. It provides plenty of room for tactical versatility.

Where does Garnacho fit into this, then? Well, he is a natural wide man in a way that Simons certainly isn't. To that extent, looking at profiles and roles, he is only the second right-footed left winger that actually works from the left side rather than drifting infield.

It was evident last season just how much Chelsea struggled when Jadon Sancho and Nkunku both had to play. Chelsea lacked pace and directness, something Garnacho offers. The benefit to having both Gittens and Garnacho would be depth of the touchline winger who advances into the box.

Simons is a heavy passer, Gittens dribbles, and Garnacho has impressive volume for entering dangerous positions, receiving in clever areas and generating shots of good quality. His decision-making, like Gittens, needs work, but in a better team and with a better environment, Chelsea would hope for him to have a bigger impact.

After all, Garnacho is a player of high potential with an already appealing set of attributes. He is durable, has a considerable level of experience for his age, and ranks well at a poorly run club for underlying numbers.

The hope would be that in a more cohesive and settled unit, he would produce more from the advanced areas he gets into, being used in a more attack-minded system that suits him. There is definitely logic to this.

If Chelsea play the waiting game with United then they could get Garnacho on a cheap deal and end up in a real position of strength. The question is whether they can get him the minutes, along with Gittens and Simons (who will also surely cover for Palmer and offers Maresca genuine cover in playing Palmer on the right as well), to develop and keep everyone happy.

Then there is his background.Garnacho has been made out as a troublemaker. Is this the sort of character (linked to team leaks at Old Trafford and with manager appealing for more effort in training) that Chelsea want to take a risk on? They can back themselves to keep him in check and see him thrive in a less toxic wasteland, or they are making a bad call.

Chelsea have a growing group of young players who are kicking on. They have found a winning mentality, which breeds more success in the future, and settled down after a troublesome 18 months. Garnacho could enter and explode in a good sense or

Hindsight will ultimately decide which way a potential transfer is seen. His brother is outspoken on social media but is also a teenager. Is it deep enough to be worried about? It is one of the red flags but Chelsea would support Garnacho in being a good enough asset on the pitch to justify any of the noise.

That's why Garnacho remains a player of massive intrigue. Rightly or wrongly, it just won't go away.