Alejandro Garnacho has a unique characteristic which marks him out among Manchester United ’s other wingers, according to Paul Scholes.
Garnacho was selected by Erik ten Hag to start for United in their final Europa League group game of the season against Real Sociedad on Thursday night. The selection was a big show of faith from the United manager, who is without Anthony Martial, Antony and Jadon Sancho, but could have picked Anthony Elanga.
The 18-year-old winger made his senior debut for United in April and has burst onto the scene this season after putting in a strong performance in the 3-0 win over FC Sheriff last week. And with Sancho and Antony attracting criticism from United legend Rio Ferdinand for their reluctance to take on opposition full-backs, Garnacho appears the perfect tonic.
The youngster showed his talent just 17 minutes into the Real Sociedad match, running in behind the defence to collect a through ball from his idol Cristiano Ronaldo and lift a finish over the goalkeeper. His first goal for the club will live long in the memory and Scholes believes it will be the first of many.
“He (Ten Hag) obviously thinks highly of him – and rightly so after last week,” Scholes said before kick-off on BT Sport. “He was something we didn’t really know much about last week but he was really impressive. So confident.
“There are not many wide players these days that can beat a man on either side. I think he’s capable of going down the left, or going down the right. He looks like he’s got a goal in him. He’s got an assist in him. The players being injured – Martial, Sancho, Antony – probably will help him. But this lad is a real talent.”
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Former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves added: “He gave us a lot of confidence watching him play (against Sheriff). Young guys, they’ve never really failed, so they burst onto the scene and they want to grab the moment with both hands.”
That style of play appears to be at odds with Sancho, who has three goals and one assist this season, but has been reluctant to run at the defence. The 22-year-old winger, who missed the Sociedad game through illness, was criticised by Ferdinand last month.
“The confidence and the swagger when he walked through the doors at Old Trafford isn’t there right now,” he said on Vibe with Five. “He’s just coming back out and playing back and recycling the ball. This isn’t you man.
“I don’t know what it is and Antony has been the same in some games. A lot of the times he comes back, doesn’t go on the outside or cross the ball. He’s exciting but he’s still passing the ball back a lot.
“With Sancho I just feel that it’s in there and what I will give him credit for is his defensive work. His shape has been good but it’s the other side of the game that’s missing and that’s why we bought him. We didn’t buy him to be a defender, we bought him to destroy teams. I want to see more from him and Antony in that area.”
