Pranav Nair
Erik ten Hag admits Manchester United star Alejandro Garnacho wasn’t always reliable this season
According to The Mirror, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revealed that Alejandro Garnacho has not always lived up to expectations this season.
This comes in the wake of the youngster’s goalscoring performance in the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. The Argentine star opened the scoring on the night as the defending champions made easy work of Palace.
It was the 19-year-old’s first goal this season as he aims to build upon a promising 2022-23 campaign. Now that the goalscoring monkey is off his back, Garnacho will hopefully push on.
Despite the win, Ten Hag is keen to stay grounded and warned his player to not let performance levels drop. He in particular has advised Garnacho to do more if he is keen to land a first XI spot at Old Trafford.
“You have seen at the start of the season we played him and then his contribution was not good enough.”
It could be a tactic of tough-love, given that Ten Hag went on to claim that despite not being at his best, the youngster still had moments of great impact. The Dutchman certainly knows the carrot and stick approach by heart.
“You see always he is a threat in the game even when he is not playing that well.”
Wait for the celebration 😮💨
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 27, 2023
🌟 @AGarnacho7#MUFC || #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/V3nE2umVAN
Garnacho certainly has nothing to worry about as long as he continues to improve and deliver. At 19, his game is only developing and Ten Hag is right to have him keep his feet grounded.
“I think it is quite normal for a player of his age that there is space for a lot of improvement. Everyone likes him, the fans like him, the team likes him, I like him but we also have to demand from him and push him because he can act on a very high level but he has to show it every day.”
Unfulfilled potential borders on cliche these days and Garnacho will do well not to go down that path. He will, hopefully, heed Ten Hag’s advice and continue to go from strength to strength.
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Marcus Rashford is struggling for form while Antony and Mason Greenwood are both out of the question at this moment. With Jadon Sancho also facing backlash for his actions, this could be Garnacho’s time to shine. The onus to take that opportunity is down to the Argentine star.
