Ralf Rangnick provided Alejandro Garnacho with his Manchester United debut back when he was interim manager at Old Trafford.
Alejandro Garnacho left Manchester United in the summer transfer window and decided to join Premier League rivals Chelsea in a £40 million deal.
The 21-year-old had broken into the first-team at Old Trafford under Erik ten Hag before continuing to play after Ruben Amorim took charge.
But without a defined role in the system, and after tension seemed to build with the United boss after the Europa League final, Garnacho left the club.
Before emerging as a first-team regular with Ten Hag in charge, Garnacho was given his debut in the 2021/22 campaign – ironically, it came against Chelsea.
What Rangnick said about Garnacho before United debut
Ralf Rangnick was the interim manager at Old Trafford when Garnacho was making noise in the youth teams in 2022.
The then-teenager was the standout player in the Under-18s team which eventually went onto win the FA Youth Cup.
Before giving him his first-team debut, Rangnick spoke about Garnacho to the media and explained how he could push his way into the team.
“[Garnacho] has been training with us [the first team] for the last two weeks and I know that he is one of the most promising players,” said Rangnick.
“[He is] still only 17, but a player that hopefully if he keeps his feet on the ground. If he keeps trying to get better every day, then he will not only be sitting on the bench but there is every chance he will be playing for this club.”
Rangnick was right about Garnacho
Rangnick’s time at United did not end up what it was supposed to be, but he seemed to predict Garnacho’s future pretty well.
Like the ex-manager said, Garnacho managed to break through and play consistently in the first-team. He made 144 appearances for the club.
But Rangnick also explained how the Argentine needed to ‘keep his feet on the ground’. That is perhaps the biggest criticism about how Garnacho’s United career went.
It felt like the 21-year-old got too much too soon and started to believe that he was better than his performances showed. His outburst after the Europa League final is the best example of this.
That doesn’t all come down to Garnacho, however. Erik ten Hag started him in almost every game in the 2023/24 campaign while others underperformed. His development probably should’ve been handled differently.
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