How can Ruben Amorim and Man Utd get the best out of Alejandro Garnacho?

A year ago, Alejandro Garnacho was not a regular starter. He was hardly starting at all, in fact. When he appeared in the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Newcastle United on November 1, 2023 it was only his fourth start of the season.

But his fifth came the following weekend, away at Fulham. Then his sixth was a few days after that, away at Copenhagen. His seventh followed immediately, against Luton Town at Old Trafford. Then his eighth at Goodison Park, along with a rather memorable goal. Then the ninth. The 10th.

And so on, all the way to the FA Cup final at Wembley against Manchester City, where he opened the scoring on a day that will go down in United’s history for all the right reasons.

That match was his 38th consecutive start, the longest streak of starts by any United player last season. By comparison, Bruno Fernandes managed 31 in a row. The United captain was one of just two outfielders who clocked up more than Garnacho’s 3,560 minutes in all competitions.

It was a lot of football for a developing player. It also meant a sharp shift in expectations — from impact substitute to regular starter. All of which is worth remembering when Garnacho occasionally exasperates in the way that young, raw 20-year-olds do.

Against Chelsea last Sunday, Garnacho fashioned and squandered United’s best chance in open play, intelligently holding his run just after the hour mark and creating space for Fernandes to cut the ball back to him in the penalty area. His tame shot was straight at goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

Similarly, in the first half, he had sent another limp shot comfortably into Sanchez’s hands, when playing in Marcus Rashford might have been a better choice.

He even drew the ire of Casemiro at one point when, after carelessly giving the ball away to Pedro Neto on the edge of Chelsea’s box, he left the Brazilian to stop the counter-attack by any means necessary and pick up a yellow card. Casemiro turned back and gave Garnacho an ear-bashing.

There was also a stoppage-time counter-attack where Garnacho had a narrow opening to play Amad through in behind. Instead, he kept the ball and drove for the byline. His decision-making at times can be questionable, but that decision and his subsequent cross to the near post almost laid the ball on a plate for Joshua Zirkzee to convert from close range, only for man-of-the-match Moises Caicedo to intercept. Garnacho might have won the game himself minutes earlier, had a fizzing late volley flown a couple of inches under the crossbar rather than over it.

Ifs and buts, granted, but ones that illustrate that even on his off days, Garnacho typically makes things happen. And that is why he became a mainstay in the starting line-up sooner than expected.

There were other reasons for that, too. Erik ten Hag felt he had little choice but to rely on those on the fringes of his squad more heavily as United’s injury crisis began to bite last season. In Garnacho’s case, the added complication of Antony’s form and off-field issues opened the door to more regular playing time.

But Garnacho kept his place on merit, becoming United’s most reliable source of shots on the opposition’s goal. His 3.51 shots per 90 in the Premier League last season was the most among his team-mates and in the top 10 across the league. That figure has risen to 3.83 this term, placing him among the top five league-wide.

Not all shots are equal of course, and Garnacho can be too trigger-happy, shooting when passing or simply holding onto the ball would be a better option. But his non-penalty xG per 90 of 0.46 is an early improvement on last season and, again, in the upper echelons of the league. His 0.12 xG per shot — a measure of the average quality of chances he gets on the end of — compares favourably to other high-volume shooters.

It is probably worth mentioning that he is also United’s top scorer. A low bar to clear maybe, but six goals and four assists is also the most goal involvements of any player in the squad. Garnacho is arguably on the way to becoming United’s most productive attacking player.

That is a result of the exposure he has received over the past year, and even though last season’s marathon streak of starts has been broken, he is still playing a lot for his age.

His 1,121 minutes this season is the seventh-most among United’s squad. Only players aged 26 or over have played more, and Garnacho would likely have more on the clock for his club if not for the Copa America and his Argentina call-up in September.

Garnacho missed October’s internationals with a minor knee injury that he has been carrying since before the 3-3 draw in Porto, wearing strapping on the affected knee in that game. He was still wearing that strapping in Thursday’s win over PAOK.

Even so, he has still started all of United’s seven games since Porto, and had played up until the 90th minute in each of the league and European outings before being brought off in the 65th minute against PAOK.

It was not a surprise to see his number come up. Like Chelsea before it, Thursday was not Garnacho at his most effective, one of those occasions where the burden on his young shoulders showed.

Even last season, Ten Hag managed Garnacho’s minutes carefully where he could. In his 63 starts under the former United manager, Garnacho was brought off 39 times. Only Rashford and Antony were substituted more often during his management. The explosiveness that is inherent to his game needed to be protected at times.

And perhaps in that respect, Ruben Amorim’s arrival could help. The limited number of out-and-out attacking roles in the incoming manager’s system and wealth of competition for those places will necessarily mean fewer minutes for Garnacho, unless he is given a new role entirely.

Given Amorim’s reliance on wing-backs, Garnacho has been touted in some quarters as a potential solution. Of all United’s wingers, he arguably has the requisite athleticism to cover a whole flank by himself and, in Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia’s absence, Amorim could be forced to experiment on the left in his first few games.

But as a right-footed player, Garnacho would not offer the natural width required on that flank by Amorim’s system. And though he may be more suited to the role on the right, Diogo Dalot is a far more natural fit, with Noussair Mazraoui as cover.

In any case, taking arguably your most dangerous attacking outlet and playing him as a wing-back who has to stay wide is not an orthodox move, perhaps not a sensible one either. It would surely be just a short-term option anyway until that role is properly filled.

Which will likely put Garnacho in one of those two places behind the striker, competing alongside several others, rarely putting together the long streak of starts he enjoyed last season.

But is that more typical playing time and responsibility what Garnacho needs right now? Could it help him take the next step? We will find out.

(Top photo by Carl Recine via Getty Images)