Manchester United Young Star Returns Early To Make Senior Breakthrough

Manchester United and Argentina starlet, Alejandro Garnacho, has returned to Carrington early in order to start pre-season with the rest of the squad.

According to reports in the Manchester Evening News by Samuel Luckhurst, Garnacho was entitled to a three-week break following his involvement in the Toulon Tournament for Argentina U20s, with Argentina coming fifth in the competition.

The young winger will be hoping that his early return will be the catalyst for a breakthrough season at Old Trafford, with Erik ten Hag taking charge of the team ahead of the 22/23 season.

Garnacho had a scintillating season for the U23 side, with three goals and an assist in 11 appearances in the Premier League 2. 

He also helped the side to glory in the FA Youth Cup with a staggering seven goals and three assists in only six games.

Following his form for the youth teams, Ralf Ragnick rewarded the young winger with his senior debut in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea, coming off the bench to replace Anthony Elanga. 

It will be hoped by the player, the club and the fans alike that his debut against Chelsea was only the start of Alejandro Garnacho’s time at Manchester United, with the young star tipped for an extremely promising career.

The work ethic displayed to come to pre-season early is something that ought to impress new manager, Erik ten Hag, with the Dutchman likely to reshuffle the squad ahead of next season.

It is perhaps no coincidence that the winger has developed such a hunger for work and to prove himself, having trained and played with both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at club and country level respectively.

If the emulation of both icons’ work ethic results in anything close to a career trajectory representative of theirs, United fans can begin to get excited about the prospect they have on their hands, with Garnacho only turning 18 on the 1st of July.

United’s current pursuit of Ajax forward, Antony, may restrict Garnacho’s breakthrough into the senior side, with pushing the Argentine further down the pecking order at Old Trafford.

However, United’s involvement in four separate competitions will create the need for young players to come into the side, meaning Garnacho will likely get increased opportunities in the senior side.

The next step towards a breakthrough season will be for the winger to ensure his place in the squad for United’s pre-season tour.

Manchester United’s pre-season tour is set to start under Erik ten Hag on 26 June for those players who did not take part in the most recent international break.

The club will fly to Bangkok to face Liverpool on 12 July in the first of six pre-season friendlies, before heading over to Australia to play Melbourne Victory, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.

The side will then head back to Northern Europe to face Atletico Madrid in Oslo on 30 July, before a fixture at Old Trafford the next day against Rayo Vallecano sees the club wrap their pre-season tour up before kicking their Premier League season off against Brighton & Hove Albion on the 2022/23 opening weekend.