Sport
Alejandro Garnacho likes Wembley. Indeed, the Manchester United winger has scored in each of his last two appearances at the national stadium, finding the back of the net against the same opponent – Manchester City – in Saturday’s Community Shield and last season’s FA Cup final. One match ended in victory, the other in defeat. Garnacho was outstanding in both of them.
Garnacho came off the bench against City on Saturday, but Erik ten Hag explained that was due to the Argentine not having as full a pre-season as some of the other options in the United squad. Garnacho was part of the Argentina team that won this summer’s Copa America and so ten Hag has been wary not to rush him back to first team action.
Nonetheless, Garnacho made a profound impact against last season’s Premier League champions, reversing a low finish into the bottom corner after a driving run into the opposition penalty box. It was the sort of goal that Garnacho has become known for with the 20-year-old quickly becoming the face of ten Hag’s Manchester United.
Last season, United struggled for attacking consistency. Marcus Rashford endured arguably the worst campaign of his professional career while Rasmus Hojlund struggled for fitness after joining from Atalanta. Fitness was also an issue for Anthony Martial who started just five matches in total in the Premier League.
Antony arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax in a €95m transfer that had many supporters expecting the Brazilian to be a genuine difference-maker. Instead, he toiled throughout his first season in English football and ultimately lost his place on the right wing to Garnacho who gave United more forward thrust and potency in the final third.
This summer has been one of change at Old Trafford. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS are remoulding Manchester United after taking over as minority owners earlier this year and have hired transfer chiefs Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox to rebuild the team on the pitch. This has been evident in some of the signings made over the last two months. United want to challenge for top honours again.
Much of the transfer market focus has been on the defence with Leny Yoro signed in a €62m transfer from Lille. Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui are also expected to complete a double transfer from Bayern Munich in the coming days with Joshua Zirkzee signed from Bologna to bulk out ten Hag’s attacking ranks.
In Garnacho, though, Manchester United already have a player they can build around. Rashford has a point to prove after a disappointing 2023/24 season while Hojlund is still settling into his new surroundings. On the right wing, though, United boast one of the most exciting attacking prospects in the Premier League. As long as Garnacho stays fit and shows a willingness to learn, he will continue to improve.
“I love to work with Garnacho,” ten Hag said last season as Garnacho started to establish himself as a first team figure. “He’s a player who needs a challenge, he likes a challenge, he is very brave, he’s very confident, our job is to push him to high levels. He has high potential and now we have to get the potential out, therefore you have to work day by day.”
It’s true that Garnacho could still refine his decision-making in the attacking third to become more clinical, but that’s part of what makes him such an exciting talent – he isn’t the finished article, yet is still capable of impacting matches at the highest level. There will be many more moments like Garnacho’s Community Shield strike.
