Alejandro Garnacho may be starring for Manchester United now, but the wonderkid has had a rocky road to getting his chance under Erik ten Hag.
Shortly after scoring his first senior goal for the Red Devils on Thursday, as they beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in the Europa League, Bruno Fernandes made headlines by revealing that Garnacho had been held back because of his poor attitude in pre-season. Speaking to BT Sport post-match, Fernandes poured water on the hype surrounding the 18-year-old starlet in a revelation to most supporters.
"He was good, but he knows that we expect a lot from him," the United midfielder, who's Ten Hag's trusted vice-captain, began. "Obviously he's still really young, he's doing really well. He was not at his best at the beginning of the season.
"On the [pre-season] tour he didn't have the best attitude that he should have had, and that's why he didn't get his chances until now. He's getting his chances because he's training better, having a different attitude and deserving his chances."
While fans were struck by Fernandes' candid comments, which were criticised by pundits such as Chris Sutton for being "completely unnecessary," it seems that Garancho's behaviour had indeed irked the Red Devils' camp. Ten Hag and his players weren't impressed in pre-season, when the Argentina youth international was notably made to wait until United's final friendly to earn a start.
According to The Times, Fernandes was referring to the two occasions on which Garnacho had turned up late for a team meeting while touring Thailand and Australia in July. Ten Hag has already backed his midfielder's claims up, too, as his own comments following last week's 3-0 victory over Sheriff Tiraspol, a game in which Garnacho shone, were telling.
"I was not happy with him [in the early weeks of the season]," the Red Devils boss revealed. "The last weeks I was happy with him, a better attitude, more resilience."
Have your say! Does Garnacho deserve to start against Aston Villa? Let us know your lineup in the comments section.
Meanwhile, The Athletic claim that the Spanish-born forward's tendency to walk out of training with his laces untied was another example of his lack of professionalism, representative of a larger attitude issue which resulted in him receiving limited minutes in pre-season.
Now, though, United seem happier with Garnacho's off-pitch exploits which will allow him to continue his good form on it. Having started the last two Europa League games, he'll be hoping to keep his place and make his first Premier League start this term in Sunday's trip to Aston Villa.
Ten Hag was suitably impressed by his display against Real Socidedad, and not just because of his well-taken maiden goal. "He did well and I hope he can keep going in this process," the Dutch tactician affirmed. "He was reliable defending, he worked hard, he was a threat and he scored a goal so I am happy. If he can keep this process going, I'm really happy."
