Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United to offer new contract to academy starlet Alejandro Garnacho after his heroics in the FA Youth Cup
According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United are set to reward academy starlet Alejandro Garnacho for his fine performances this season with the youth teams by offering a new contract with improved terms, almost immediately after his FA Youth Cup heroics.
The club’s under-18s team triumphed over Nottingham Forest last night in the final of the FA Youth Cup, as the Red Devils youngsters lifted the trophy in front of a nearly-full Old Trafford. Garnacho proved to be the difference, bagging a brace against the opposition in a 3-1 win.
This came just hours after he was announced as the winner of the Jimmy Murphy Award, which is awarded to United’s best young player of the year. This sees the 17-year-old follow in the footsteps of several successful academy graduates that went on to become first-team stars, such as Marcus Rashford, Ryan Giggs, and Paul Scholes.
The current campaign has proven to be a breakout season for the forward, who has enjoyed a fruitful spell with the youth team and capped it off by winning both the FA Youth Cup and the Jimmy Murphy Award.
He also made his senior debut last month against Chelsea, coming on in the final minutes of the game. Born in Spain, Garnacho has represented Argentina’s U20 team and was even called up to train with their senior side, including Lionel Messi, this season.
New contract with improved terms
Now, his efforts are set to be rewarded as United are planning to offer Garnacho a new contract with improved terms. It is a massive upgrade for the former Atletico Madrid youth product, who only signed his first professional contract with the Manchester side after turning 17 last July.
This seems to now be a club practice for the Manchester side, given their past history of handing out new deals to academy graduates who have made their senior debuts. Rashford, Mason Greenwood, and Anthony Elanga have all gotten new contracts within months of turning out for the first team.
After enjoying a fabulous season with the youth team and also making his senior bow for the club, Garnacho will now aim to take it to another level in the coming season. United are set to welcome Erik ten Hag of Ajax Amsterdam as the new permanent manager, which may work in the player’s favour.
The Dutchman is known to give youth a chance, which is a trait that runs deep in the Red Devils’ DNA. ten Hag earned plaudits from the footballing community for leading a young Ajax side to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019, which sends a hopeful message to the current academy stars at Carrington.
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Garnacho will be keen to show ten Hag what he is capable of and work his way into the manager’s plans for next season. This is definitely not an impossible task, given how Anthony Elanga worked his way up to the first team under Ralf Rangnick in the same manner this term.
He has already knocked on the doors of the senior squad during the current campaign and been a part of a few matchday squads in the past couple of weeks. Next season, he will look to be out on the pitch under ten Hag, lining up alongside the rest of the first-team stars.
