Alejandro Garnacho is enjoying the most prolific campaign of his career since breaking into Manchester United’s senior squad.
The teenager’s scintillating performances this term have led to his £86 million counterpart Antony being edged out of the starting 11, and Garnacho shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Now on seven goals and four assists for the term, he has proven vital to Erik ten Hag’s project at Old Trafford, even if it has taken several wayward turns across the past eight months.
Garnacho almost single-handedly kickstarted a comeback on Boxing Day when the Reds trailed 2-0 to Aston Villa at Old Trafford after 45 minutes. In the second half, he displayed his composure with two well-taken goals to draw the tie level before Rasmus Hojlund opened his Premier League account in the closing stages of the game.
The 19-year-old’s most recent contribution was equally as pivotal; he led a devastating counter-attack alongside Amad Diallo in the final minutes of United’s FA Cup quarter-final clash with Liverpool, carrying the ball the length of the pitch before slotting in the Ivorian, who was able to hammer it home and book a place in the semis.
Of course, there’s no doubt that Garnacho’s personal highlight of the term will be his outrageous, Wayne Rooney-esque bicycle kick away to Everton last November. To have that one in the catalogue already says a lot about his astounding goalscoring talents.
Having earned his maiden Argentina cap in June 2023, the teenager is now looking to gain as much experience alongside the world champions at every opportunity he gets. Lionel Scaloni opted to include Garnacho in his squad for the current international break, granting him a 45-minute cameo – his longest yet – against El Salvador last Saturday.
Argentina star reserves special praise for Garnacho
Cristian Romero evidently has high expectations of the youngster too, as he told TyC Sports: “Garnacho is going to give a lot to this National Team. It is not easy to adapt to this group, but I see him very well.
“He is very shy but I see him very well and with a huge future. It will depend on him how far he wants to go, but the conditions are more than enough.”
