A former Barcelona and Argentina star has had his say on Alejandro Garnacho’s season, praising the Manchester United winger for his quality despite recent poor form.
Alejandro Garnacho hasn’t had the easiest of seasons at Manchester United, especially under new head coach Ruben Amorim.
The Argentine started the season as second fiddle on the left wing, behind Marcus Rashford, but his performances off the bench were impactful. In the first six games in all competitions, Garnacho registered seven goal contributions, earning himself a starting place.
However, when the no.17 began to start consistently, he seemed to struggle to have the same impact on games and became part of the team that saw Erik ten Hag sacked.
Under Amorim, Garnacho has continued to have issues while adapting to a new position as one of the attacking midfielders, playing in the half-spaces, rather than out wide as he had done before.
Despite these concerns, Garnacho still has 10 goals and nine assists to his name this term, noticeably while playing with a knee brace on for most of the campaign.
Saviola speaks on Garnacho’s quality
Javier Saviola, former Argentina and Barcelona attacker, is a big fan of Garnacho and has had his say on the young Argentine, speaking to El Intransigente.
“He has a lot of personality, he doesn’t give up and he’s always on the ball. He never gives up in one-on-one situations,” said Saviola.
“Now he’s adding goals to his game, something he was lacking a bit before, and he’s appearing closer to the box.”
Saviola later spoke on his hopes for Argentina’s international football in the coming years, when many of the current squad retire.
“When the time comes for players like Messi and Otamendi to retire, I think the national team has a great future with Julian Alvarez, Garnacho, and Diablito Echeverri, among others.”
Garnacho should be given time
Due to his love for Cristiano Ronaldo, Garnacho has often been compared to United’s former no.7 and he is a lot closer to him than some may think.
In the 2004/05 season, a 20-year-old Ronaldo played 50 times for Sir Alex Ferguson’s United side and registered just 18 goal contributions all season, while playing alongside some of the greatest players in Premier League history.
Not only does Garnacho have more contributions with several games left to go, but he has already established himself as a senior player, having played 52 games with six games still to go, seven if United make the Europa League final.
Read More: Manchester United handed major Rayan Cherki transfer boost after Rúben Amorim staff left “impressed”
Despite having better stats than arguably the greatest player of all time at the same age, many fans have called for Garnacho to be sold in the summer to make way for other targets.
Not only is Garnacho playing in a significantly worse side, but he has to change his entire playing style to suit a new manager. He is a quality talent and should be given the time to develop because he could be a great player.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 12:30 pm (GMT) on the United View YouTube channel.