How far Alejandro Garnacho can go at Manchester United will be down to him

In the lead-up to Manchester United welcoming Barcelona to Old Trafford, Alejandro Garnacho decided the occasion merited a distinctive new look. He visited a salon in Sale, Greater Manchester, and asked for his hair to be bleached blond.

Garnacho wanted to wait until under the floodlights at the Theatre of Dreams to reveal his striking appearance, so he wore a woolly hat when he headed out for United’s open training session the day before the game.

Antony, however, had other ideas. Garnacho’s mistake was telling his team-mates about his plan and that the treatment had cost him £300. Soon after the players emerged in front of dozens of television cameras and photographers, Antony swiped Garnacho’s hat from his head to spoil his surprise.

(Photo: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)

For the rest of the section open to the media, Garnacho repeatedly ruffled his hair in a kind of sheepishness. He was suffering from dreaded hat hair and also the dye hadn’t completely set right.

Any mild embarrassment didn’t last long. The next night he came off the bench to send a jolt through United’s team. It was his shot that triggered the rebounds which led to Antony sweeping in the winner.

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Garnacho was the first player to hug Antony by the corner flag. The pair shone like beacons, with Antony having by then got his own hair dyed silver.

On one level, it is a silly dressing-room story. But it also says something about the kind of character Garnacho is at 18 years old, and why nobody at United thinks he will be overawed when he is inevitably called upon at Wembley in arguably the most significant Manchester derby in history.

(Photo: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)

A source close to United — who, like others in this piece, spoke on condition of anonymity to protect positions or relationships — explains: “Some people might think dying his hair for a big game at his age is too much, but he wants the attention, and you need that kind of mentality to thrive at United. He’s not daunted by any occasion. Other players have signed and shrunk under the scale of the club.”

Erik ten Hag lists a strong personality as one of his prerequisites when profiling recruitment targets and, whatever might be made of Garnacho’s brand of showmanship, he certainly fits into that category. The moments of quality he has produced in pressurised circumstances are a testament to that.

His warp-speed goal at Fulham won United the game in added time, while his calm cross for Marcus Rashford when Manchester City visited Old Trafford helped give Ten Hag one of his best results of the campaign.

Garnacho’s goal against West Ham in the fifth round of the FA Cup, when he controlled the ball with his studs and swept a shot into the far corner, put United ahead in the 90th minute. He also scored with excellent finishes late at Leeds and home to Wolves, each time confirming the result by making the score 2-0. His goal at Real Sociedad in November, his first at senior level, won United a Europa League game that had meaning.

Five goals as a teenager in a debut campaign is a respectable total and perhaps of greater relevance to Wembley — a one-off contest for a crucial piece of silverware — Garnacho is able to make an impact in a short space of time.

When it comes to goals and assists in the Premier League, he has the best ratio per minute of any United player this season, as the table below shows.

Given Anthony Martial’s torn hamstring, and with Antony also expected to be ruled out through an ankle injury, Garnacho’s importance to Ten Hag has risen sharply.

United will be thankful they were firm when Garnacho expressed his wish to play at the Under-20 World Cup, which started on May 20 and runs to June 11. Garnacho had a strong desire to represent Argentina at the tournament because it is being staged there. He had missed the chance to play for the senior side at their homecoming after winning the World Cup because he got injured against Southampton 10 days earlier. The scenes of Argentina’s fans lauding their team were incredibly emotive, but Garnacho had been forced to pull out of the squad through an ankle injury sustained in a tackle by Kyle Walker-Peters.

During the debate about the Under-20 World Cup — an issue replicated at several Premier League clubs — Garnacho spoke to Ten Hag and understood why it was better for him to stay with United. While recovering from his injury, Garnacho’s total focus was on eventually helping United qualify for the Champions League and try to win the FA Cup.

It was not assured that he would play again this season when he limped off against Southampton in the 0-0 draw on March 12. He had tried to stay on but there was ligament damage that left doctors concerned his campaign could be over. This was also Garnacho’s first “significant” injury of his career and, with that being the case, staff were uncertain how he would react.

Physios were delighted with his application, though. Garnacho worked as hard as possible to return, heading into Carrington on days off, completing monotonous hill walks at the back of the training ground, and committing to gym work — which pleasantly surprised coaches. The result of the upper-body lifting done when he was unable to put weight on his ankle could be seen when he took off his shirt after scoring against Wolves.

(Photo: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)

During this time, the finishing touches were put on Garnacho’s new contract, which was announced on April 28. The prospect of improved terms to reflect his status in the squad was first raised internally last summer, with intentions to progress in September once the transfer window was closed. By the time United were able to proceed on the talks however, Garnacho had scored at Fulham and become a regular selection for Ten Hag, with one source estimating the delay meant the starting point for his salary had doubled.

As a player with lots of commercial opportunities, Garnacho’s image rights also took some negotiation.

All parties were very happy to agree on a five-year contract, and Garnacho was so pleased that he invited family members over to share the experience of signing his first major deal. His grandparents and those of his girlfriend Eva flew over from Spain and he gave them a tour of Old Trafford on the day he put pen to paper.

Garnacho did the first part of his interview with MUTV in English to show the work he’s been doing on learning the language, before reverting to Spanish for a more flowing conversation. His new tattoo is also in English, with ‘Blessed by God’ in large lettering across his chest.

Last week, he did his first formal appearance with United’s foundation, going into a school in Chorlton alongside Fred and speaking to special educational needs children about different languages for more than an hour.

Garnacho lives in Cheshire with Eva, as well as his mum Patricia, dad Alex, and brother Roberto.

In May, Garnacho and Eva announced they are having a baby boy. A source close to the couple said: “Alejandro and Eva are childhood sweethearts, they are totally in love. All of their family and friends are very happy and proud that they are expecting a baby.

“They have been living together for a while in a quiet part of Cheshire, enjoying a calm lifestyle and supporting each other since they arrived in England.

(Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

“It’s exciting news that has come early in their lives, but they’ve got great support from both of their families and feel ready for this next step.”

Roberto, three years younger than Garnacho, is also a good player and was enrolled on United’s emerging talent programme. He is expected to sign with an academy of a different club this summer.

In May, Roberto posted an image on Twitter of Garnacho kneeling at the feet of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was sat on the throne from Game of Thrones, and wearing United’s No 7 shirt, holding his current No 49 in his hand. “I’ve got a dream,” Roberto wrote.

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Whether Garnacho switches from No 49 (seven multiplied by seven) at his age remains to be seen, but United fans have already adopted Ronaldo’s chant for him. “Viva Garnacho,” they sing.

Garnacho is one of the few players to have trained with both Ronaldo and, at international level, Lionel Messi. He was born in Madrid but qualifies for Argentina through his mother.

Garnacho has required some tough love at United. Ten Hag declined to select him on last summer’s pre-season tour and at the start of the campaign over “attitude”, but improvements saw him picked regularly from late October. In November, Ten Hag said: “I was not happy with him but the last weeks I was happy with him; (he’s shown) a better attitude, more resilience.”

Keeping Garnacho hungry and disciplined to Ten Hag’s instructions while also being an explosive attacking threat is something Bruno Fernandes is mindful of. “He’s still young, and I don’t want to give too many compliments because, you know, when you’re young, you get too many compliments, you can get a little bit relaxed,” he said after Garnacho scored against Wolves.

“We need this Alejandro coming on and making goals, making assists, getting back to recover balls — everything. But I think if he wasn’t doing what he needed to do, he wouldn’t be playing.”

Garnacho is already worth many multiples of the £100,000 ($125,000) compensation fee United paid Atletico Madrid in 2020. Scout Gerardo Guzman brought Garnacho to United’s attention, having been Atletico’s chief academy talent spotter until 2016. David Harrison, head of youth recruitment, liked what he saw and football director John Murtough sanctioned the move.

He showed the strength of mind to get through lockdown in a new country, not speaking the language, where his first two weeks were spent in mandatory quarantine. He began his career in England by travelling solely between Carrington and his digs in Sale.

Garnacho began to command attention with his goals in United’s run to the FA Youth Cup final last season, and Ralf Rangnick surprised academy staff by adding him to his first-team squad. His parents were in tears in the directors’ box at Old Trafford when he made his debut as a substitute against Chelsea in April 2022.

A couple of weeks later, he was back with the under-18s, in front of 67,492 at Old Trafford for the FA Youth Cup final. He scored twice late on to clinch the trophy for United.

That night, in front of a record crowd for the competition, Garnacho showed what those who know him argue about his mentality.

“He’s fearless,” one source close to him says. That approach will be necessary in a match of such consequence against City, and should United win, Garnacho could lay claim to the rare feat of winning FA Youth Cup and FA Cup in back-to-back years.

(Top photo: LINDSEY PARNABY/AFP via Getty Images)