An exciting 18-year-old winger from the academy is promoted by a new manager and promptly given compensation. He rapidly gains a chant. Like Adnan Januzaj did nearly ten years ago, Alejandro Garnacho has the attention of Manchester United supporters.
I’ll tell you about a boy who can do everything, I wanna tell you, I might as well do, the song began. He is from Belgium and goes by the name Adnan Januzaj.
In 2013–14, under David Moyes, when United endured their worst season in 25 years, all the supporters could sing about was Januzaj. When Ryan Giggs hired Nicky Butt to join the coaching staff for his four-game interim tenure, Bruce assured Januzaj that he was just as good as Giggs.
Butt was certain that Januzaj would have achieved superstardom if he had the same determination as Giggs. Januzaj, who just relocated to Andalusia and is now 28 years old, is on loan from Sevilla to Basaksehir.
In 2014, Januzaj took over Giggs’s number 11 jersey, although Louis van Gaal found his carefree attitude disconcerting. Januzaj assured me in February 2021 that, even under Van Gaal, he would remain at United.
“I had to follow Van Gaal’s orders, therefore it was his staff,” the player said. As a little lad, all I had to do was maintain my composure and, as we say, “shut up and work on the pitch”! All done. There is nothing else you could do; that is the best you could hope for. You simply had to appreciate it, accept it, and play football.
It would be quite challenging for you to express yourself on the pitch if you didn’t have the correct teammates and coaches to push you forward.
As a child, Januzaj likewise bought into his own hype. He was seeing a Manchester girl at the age of 18, but he lacked a driver’s licence and wasn’t willing to rely on the city’s public transportation.
In order to avoid being chaperoned by Denholm Elliott’s disapproving butler in Trading Places, Januzaj hired his own driver to take him to the girl’s residence and pick her up for date nights.
Garnacho’s father still drags him into Carrington, but he is conscious of his value. In addition to his self-congratulatory celebration at Fulham, where he removed his shirt, lifted it, and revealed his name to the United supporters in the Putney Road End, he also had bleached hair, several tattoos, a gender-revealing movie trailer on Instagram, and numerous other body modifications.
He too has come into his own. After Garnacho’s recent dental work, there is an uncanny resemblance with his idol Cristiano Ronaldo. On Twitter, Garnacho’s cover photo no longer features the picture of him hugging Ronaldo. It now resembles his Eminem dye job from the back and the magnificent red shirt carrying his last name.
In addition, Garnacho won’t turn 19 until July. For someone to be as cocky as Garnacho is, you better be good. His five goals have all resulted in victories or ensured victories. On Saturday against Wolves, United fans enthusiastically screamed his name during his warm-up, and there was a joyful cheer when he finally came on in the 81st minute. Thirteen minutes later, Garnacho scored calmly.
United’s standout substitute game-changer is Garnacho. He left the pitch a winner on each occasion, despite United losing to or drawing with Aston Villa, Manchester City, and Barcelona.
He is having more of a miracle year. When Ralf Rangnick started Garnacho versus Chelsea as a 17-year-old, it had been 382 days. His family, who were in the directors’ box that night, were overjoyed. Six months later, as Garnacho came out for his complete debut against FC Sheriff, his brother was in tears prior to kickoff.
Garnacho has a more contemporary Dutch coach in Ten Hag who is more attuned to Generation Z’s tendencies. At Ten Hag’s post-match debrief on Sunday, Garnacho came up in five of the nine questions. “They have the most talent in part because they are mature.
“They are mature, and they accept responsibilities first. They have confidence that they can dominate opponents, which helps them bring in the skills. And he did it once more.
“He made a significant impact in many games, whether he started or came on. He’s prepared and ready to play right away, and I’m glad you can introduce young players because that is crucial for the squad. His next challenge is to contend for a starting XI spot, so maybe he can advance quickly enough to do that.
“He is demonstrating some things when you score some winners – Fulham, the assist versus City, and now the second goal. He occasionally struggles with defensive transition and pushing. When you are about to take action or decide to keep the ball, he must step up. But he has a great talent and is brave when you look at him from all angles.
Ten Hag’s management of Garnacho has been brilliant; he punished him for being late during preseason by sending him from Bangkok to Perth via Melbourne with little playing time. Garnacho was intimidated despite his boisterous presence in the rain at the WACA, where Anthony Martial reminded him of his then-lowly status during a game of keep-ball.
At the start of the final preseason game at Old Trafford against Rayo Vallecano, Garnacho attracted fans out of their seats. United’s ultimate mark of approval is the sound of plastic seats clattering and silent anticipation.
Garnacho is not yet a polished product; how could he be? Ten Hag’s readiness to expose Garnacho’s flaws also has a distinctly Dutch quality to it.
“Decisions, decisions, scanning situations, going into one-on-ones, getting behind, going for goal, giving the additional pass or going for the assist instead of going for own success. Such choices are what separates a good player from a top player.
In contrast to Januzaj, United anticipates Garnacho.