The call-up with the Albiceleste, the second after the call for training during the World Cup Qualifiers, is only the latest certificate of esteem for the qualities expressed in the last two seasons by Alejandro Garnacho with the Manchester United shirt.
A product of the Atletico Madrid nursery, he arrived in England for a sum of around 500 k euros in October 2020, and in his first year with the Under 18 of the Red Devils he came within one point of winning the championship, contributing 7 goals and 3 assists.
The Argentine class of 2004 owes to Ralf Rangnick his debut in the top English competition, which took place on April 28, 2022 against Chelsea. For him on that occasion no ball was touched, but the satisfaction of debuting in front of his family and alongside his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Madeira champion, as a gift for his first bench with the first team, against Norwich on April 16 last year, decided to leave him the ball of his hat-trick, and Alejandro had not been able to help but thank him on social media, calling him in the meantime the greatest in history, a compliment not gone unnoticed to Sergio Agüero, who invited him to wait for the first training session with Messi.
From that moment Garnacho played the role of the pupil and the Portuguese the role of the master; a collaboration culminated in the Argentine’s first professional goal assisted by the Portuguese, who arrived in the Europa League against Real Sociedad on November 3, 2022.
A shot that has gone viral on social media gives a perfect image of the admiration felt towards the number 7; Garnacho turns to Ronaldo and asks him if he can steal his exultation, the Portuguese gives it to him and, unbeknownst to him, signs an unwitten handover.
For newcomer Erik ten Hag, accustomed to managing young players, it is the number one tactical change, capable, in the mind of the Dutch coach, of changing the inertia of crooked games and set closure in open ones.
Garnacho is a left winger with inverted foot, his greatest quality is certainly the progression ball to foot where he also shows a repertoire of dribbling and steering not indifferent; against West Ham in the FA Cup he has also showed off his ballistic skills, scoring a crucial goal for the passage in the round. His ability to affect the scoreboard is not a recent discovery, this season with Manchester he has in fact contributed with 6 assists and 4 goals and in the scoring there are two decisive goals against Real Sociedad and Fulham, confirming what was shown in the youth categories of the Red Devils in which he totaled 22 goals and 16 assists in 54 appearances and in Argentina U20 with which he has an average of 1 goal per game thanks to 4 goals in 4 appearances.
Speed, dribbling and shooting, Alejandro Garnacho has all the technical qualities necessary to exalt himself in a league like the Premier League; to the latter it is also necessary to add his personality, cross and delight for his coaches at the youth but certainly a very important weapon if he managed to channel in the correct direction, as already demonstrated at Old Trafford with those who wore the number 7 shirt before Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, or with George Best, legend of the Red Devils to whom Garnacho took away the record for the youngest foreign marking in the history of Manchester Utd.
In the meantime, Cristiano Ronaldo has moved away from Manchester, not without some friction, but Garnacho has not forgotten him, to the point of wearing his underwear in a match against Everton; Manchester Utd fans did not appreciate the gesture, but they are aware that talents like the Argentine are rare and for this time he is forgiven.
His season is likely to be compromised by an ankle injury suffered in the last match against Southampton; for the performance held so far it is inevitable to think of a candidacy to appear in the ranking for the Golden Boy 2023, and if he were to resume playing and contribute to a Champions League positioning and another trophy, after the League Cup, such as the FA Cup or the Europa League then he would certainly become one of the protagonists.
Despite this forced pause in his growth, Garnacho is a candidate to be an important pawn in the future of Manchester Utd. and next year he will be among the most important players on the Under-21 scene in Europe.
