The World Cup pause came at the wrong time for Alejandro Garnacho, who was enjoying a wonderful spell in the Manchester United first-team.
His stoppage-time winner against Fulham was somewhat overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo’s interview outbursts but Erik ten Hag won’t have forgotten his exploit. It topped a terrific few weeks for the 18-year-old.
After being handed his full first-team debut against FC Sheriff, he fired home his first senior goal against Real Sociedad a week later. Garnacho was then handed his first Premier League start in the 3-1 loss to Aston Villa before grabbing two assists in the 4-2 revenge League Cup win over the Villains.
READ MORE: Garnacho names his favourite position to play in for United
It’s not a surprise he hasn’t gotten into Argentina’s World Cup squad but there’s no doubt he’s on the brink of a breakthrough, having already trained with Lionel Messi and co earlier this year.
His period under Ten Hag didn’t start altogether smoothly though. Attitude issues meant he failed to feature at all in the club’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia despite travelling with the squad.
However, he seems to have got his ducks in a row and is in the kind of form that has got United fans calling Ten Hag to hand him consistent minutes going forward. Speaking to club media this week, Garnacho showed his current mentality and in turn why Ten Hag trusted him before the World Cup break.
“[You have to be ready] to go on and give everything,” he said. “At home I always study the full-backs and during the game itself; during the time I’m sitting on the bench.
“So I can then go on and know where and how I need to be looking to go past them. I analyse games and also opponents when I’m about to come up against them, so that I’ve got some background on each player to be ready for the game.”
These comments will have been music to Ten Hag’s ears. Throughout his tenure, the Dutchman has insisted that nothing less than maximum effort will do.
He underlined this in one of his first interviews as United boss, saying: “I have high expectations from myself and that is also what I demand from my squad. They have to co-operate together and they have to give every day their best.
“And I would say, for me, good is not good enough. We have to do better. I have high demands on my players. I expect them to fight and give 100 per cent.”
Garnacho’s next task is to keep up his consistency and push his development forward. United must ensure the youngster has the right people around him to prevent his rapid rise from going to his head too soon.
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