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Alejandro Garnacho is Manchester United’s top scorer this season.
Last year, no player featured in more consecutive starts than the 20-year-old Argentine and he has played more than any other youngster at Old Trafford this campaign. Yet, as to be expected with an inexperienced attacker, he has also struggled, particularly in recent weeks.
However, given the Red Devils’ inadequacy in front of goal this year, it feels as if getting the best out of Garnacho will prove key to any success new head coach Ruben Amorim can expect to enjoy for the remainder of the season.
But, in what position and, perhaps more crucially, system will the 39-year-old Sporting manager hope to help the talented starlet achieve this?
The Athletic reveals Garnacho ranks in the top five in the Premier League for shots taken this season. Only Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo, Eberechi Eze and Rodrigo Muniz rank higher than the Argentinian international’s 3.83 per 90.
Rasmus Hojlund, United’s number nine, is almost the antithesis with a shot shy 1.05 per 90. The other most featured members of the forward line – Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo – produce 0.89 and 1.15 respectively (FootyStats).
Garnacho is, therefore, producing more shots on the opposition goal than United’s other three attackers combined. It’s little wonder he is the club’s top scorer – it’s as much a numbers game as a quality one.
And while there is an element of the 20-year-old’s narrow focus on goal coming at the cost of better decision making, you simply have to shoot to score. If Hojlund, for example, whose finishing ability when he chooses to utilise it is statistically strong, was to adopt Garnacho’s confidence United would likely be far higher up the Premier League table.
The Athletic reveals Garnacho’s non-penalty xG – essentially how likely you are to score outside of penalties – is 0.46 per 90; again, in the “upper echelons of the league.”
The underlying statistics indicate the winger’s confidence is not misplaced. Given he only turned 20 in July, the scope for improvement with more refinement and a better articulated tactical system, which Amorim has been hired at the expense of the recently departed Erik ten Hag to implement, is vast.
United’s financial situation, which one expert describes as “close to the wire” of FFP limits, means the club is unlikely to be able to spend vast sums on a new attacker which many believe is needed for Amorim to succeed. Rather, the Portuguese manager will have to rely on improvements to the existing squad to produce better returns in the opposition box; and Garnacho is the best candidate for Amorim to do this with.
But United’s new head coach has forged his highly-regarded reputation upon a three-at-the-back system which relies on wingbacks, rather than traditional wingers. The Athletic believes Garnacho’s is potentially the only wide player at Old Trafford who possesses the “requisite athleticism to cover a whole flank by himself”.
Given the ongoing injury struggles of Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, the outlet reveals Amorim may be ” forced to experiment on the left in his first few games” with the Argentine one such trialist for the LWB role. This would limit Garnacho’s ability to be decisive in front of goal, however.
Conversely, if Amorim deploys Garnacho as part of his expected three-man attack – Sporting often line up in an unorthodox 3-4-3 formation – then he will be competing with Hojlund, Rashford, Amad, Joshua Zirkzee and Antony, as well as Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount, given the 39-year-old’s preference for an attacking midfielder to play further forward.
This competition would also, naturally, limit Garnacho’s minutes on the pitch and, consequently, his opportunities in front of goal.
And while there is an element of sensibility to protecting a player so young from the demands of weekly football, as Garnacho has been forced to adapt to at Old Trafford in the past twelve months, it feels counterproductive to not play the team’s most productive attacker as often, and as far forward, as possible.
United’s success, and by extension Amorim’s, feels closely tied to how successful Garnacho is allowed to be for the remainder of the season.
If the Portuguese coach can help hone the 20-year-old’s desire to score into a more consistent goal threat, United will climb the table rapidly. If he deploys Garnacho as a LWB to accommodate the squad’s glaring deficiency in the position, this ascension feels less likely, given how shot shy his teammates played further forward are.
Featured image Burak Kara via Getty Images