At only 18 and less than one in the top team, Alexander Garnacho is writing an incredible story in the Manchester Utd. The young Argentine is consolidating in the group led by the Dutch Erik ten Hag and at the beginning of 2023 he receives another good news: He was included in the top ten of the 50 best Under-20 footballers which is produced every year by the English magazine FourFourTwo.

Garnacho, born in Madrid but the son of Argentine parents, appears in eighth place on the list led by the British Jude Bellingham, of Borussia Dortmund, followed by the German Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), the Slovenian Benjamin Sesko (Red Bull Salzburg) and the Spanish Gavi (Barcelona). Behind the Argentine are other players with longer careers and who, like Bellingham, Musiala and Gavi, represented their teams at the World Cup in Qatar: Spaniard Alejandro Balde, Dutchman Xavi Simons and Portuguese António Silva.

FourFourTwo stresses that Garnacho “is living proof” of the historic good work of United’s training divisions, which produce footballers who “always land on their feet, no matter what drama the veterans cause.” Of the Argentine, he underlines that he has “a range of talents: the gene for finishing with poison when desperately needed, the intensity with which he moves to find space and the vision of the game with a pass or a dribble that can open doors for him in front of”.

It also highlights it “He is comfortable dribbling on the pitch or away from his marker and knows when to recycle the ball or when to go for the jugular”. “CR7 (Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo) is the past and AG49 (this is the number Garnacho wears on his shirt) is almost ready to enter the scene. He has an incredible foundation to build upon and if he continues as he started, he will be unstoppable,” predicts the publication.

In a staircase with a strong English scent, which includes 14 footballers born in that country and 17 who play there (13 in the Premier League and 4 in the Championship), Garnacho is not the only Manchester United player: he is accompanied, albeit much further back, by his former teammates in the Academy of red devils Kobbie Mainoo (40th) and Shola Shoretire (46th).

Garnacho’s inclusion on this list isn’t surprising (although perhaps his placement is surprising) for his recent performances. Although German Ralf Rangnick made his debut on 28 April last year in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Old Trafford for their 34th Premier League fixture (he replaced Swede Anthony Elanga in injury time), started to have more participation since the arrival of the Dutch ten Hag and, above all, in the last two and a half months.

His first starting appearance was on October 27 in the 3-0 win against Moldovan Sheriff in the Europa League. A week later, for the same competition, he scored his first goal, which served to give his side a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad in San Sebastián.

They were also building a presence in the Premier League, where United have won five of their last six games and, after a shaky start, climbed to fourth. So far this season and taking all tournaments into account, Garnacho has played 14 games (7 starts) and scored 3 goals.