'Alejandro Garnacho will be Man Utd's most important player of 2024'
Alejandro Garnacho.
Even just pronouncing his name gives your vocal chords a gentle reminder of saying Cristiano Ronaldo. From a tricky start to life in the Premier League amid suggestions of an attitude problem, to mature interviews and mercurial displays on the Old Trafford flanks, there're so many similarities between the pair that Manchester United fans simply decided to turn Ronaldo's chant into Garnacho's.
The latter, who in November scored surely the goal of the season with a spectacular overhead kick against Everton, once again became the Red Devils' talisman on Boxing Day by producing a career-best performance to inspire United's remarkable comeback win at home to high-flying Aston Villa.
When the chips were down and Erik ten Hag's men found themselves chasing a two-goal deficit at half-time, their teenage sensation stepped up and hit the back of the net three times in the space of 23 minutes. His first strike may've been ruled marginally offside, but his follow-ups brought the game to 2-2 and allowed Rasmus Hojlund to score an emphatic winner in front of the Stretford End.
"I am very happy," Garnacho beamed to Amazon Prime post-match, speaking next to striker Hojlund, 20, and coming across like a far more experienced player than his 19-year-old self. "One of the best days of my life."
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As the Spain-born Argentina international walked past the serenading Stretford End he'd just sent into ecstasy with his contribution to the comeback, Garnacho must've been thinking that there're even better days to come - and that's what 2024 promises.
As United prepare to go through their biggest shake-up on and off the pitch since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, new minority stakeholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe - who'll run the Red Devils' football department - won't have it easy. As the boyhood United fan - now Britain's second-richest man thanks to making his billions in the petrochemicals industry with conglomerate INEOS - roots out the problems at Old Trafford, fellow supporters will have to be patient for change to occur.
Get involved! Who you think will be Man Utd's most important player of 2024? Join the debate in the comments section.
Cristiano Ronaldo was still a rough diamond at 19 (GLENN CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images)
Alejandro Garnacho is following in his footsteps (Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)Still working under the Glazers' power structure and skirting close to the line of UEFA's Financial Fair Play restrictions, the 20-time English champions might have to hold back on splashing the cash for the next few transfer windows. It's in the forward areas where the Red Devils particularly need to strengthen, but Ratcliffe and his INEOS colleagues should be well aware that the world-class quality they're looking for could be extracted from Garnacho.
His progression may also be crucial in reforging a harmony between the squad and United's fans, with supporters understandably growing more and more disillusioned after the past few months of apathy. Nothing beats an academy graduate shining.
Ten Hag chose to hold the former Atletico Madrid youngster back in the autumn of 2022 in what was deemed a punishment for his alleged poor behaviour during pre-season, but once the winter came Garnacho sprung into life and earned a permanent place in the first-team squad. A year on from his reintegration, who first emerged under interim boss Ralf Rangnick, the fleet-footed winger is now a father after he and girlfiend Eva had their first child, Enzo, in October - and Garnacho's maturing on the pitch, too.
"He showed he was not only a threat, he had key actions, assists, shots on target, scored goals," Ten Hag hailed after the win against Villa, with Garnacho operating on the right and a respondent Marcus Rashford on the left. "There is also internal competition, but we have to see how we fit them in together."
Erik ten Hag heaped praise on the electrifying Alejandro Garnacho (Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)Elaborating on another impressive performance from his No.17, the Dutch manager added: "Previously, he was almost more comfortable on the left but I think he can play on the right as well. Today, I think he was on that right side over 90 minutes (and) an absolute threat, scored twice.
"But I think the whole frontline played very good. They invested so much in the runs behind, the timings were so good and it was a continuing threat for the opponent. I think he [Rashford] played very good, but he was ill during the period. Also, he had one or two games that we prefer to play Garnacho over the left side because he deserved it."
So, as Ratcliffe and the Old Trafford hierarchy work out the long-term planning for United's future, Garnacho should be viewing the transition period as an opportunity to cement his place on either the left or right wing. He's already started the past 13 games, far more than the seven successive starts Ronaldo - who Garnacho idolises after their spell together last year - best managed at age 19.
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Of course, that's the caveat - Garnacho is still only a teenager regardless of boasting the lucrative five-year contract which he signed back in April. Not celebrating his 20th birthday until July next year, it's wrong to put masses of pressure on his shoulders when multi-million-pound signings aren't pulling their weight in the Red Devils' dressing room.
Garnacho is the club's top-scoring forward this term, ahead of the likes of Rashford, and won't shy away from responsibility when the going gets tough. Like fellow academy product Kobbie Mainoo, who was also part of the United side which won the 2022 FA Youth Cup, Garnacho has been a silver lining of a wretched season for the Red Devils, but if they can get the best out of him over the coming months and into next term, 2024 could be one to remember.
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