Last season, Garnacho did not have many opportunities to play in the early stages. It was not until November 2023, in the match of the 4th round of the League Cup against Newcastle, that the Argentine striker marked his 4th appearance for the "Red Devils".
However, after a series of scattered head start opportunities, Garnacho's appearance frequency has increased significantly. He has been a regular starter and has gradually become an irreplaceable member of Erik ten Hag's starting lineup. At the end of the season, it was Garnacho who scored in the FA Cup final against Man City, contributing greatly to bringing the title to the whole team.
The FA Cup final was Garnacho's 38th consecutive appearance last season, more than any of his teammates. The person with the second most consecutive appearances is captain Bruno Fernandes. He and Garnacho are the two players who played over 3,560 minutes for Man United last season.
At just 20, Garnacho has become a mainstay of Man United, which is a recognition that cannot be underestimated. However, he still has a lot to learn, especially in finishing. Witnessing the match against Chelsea last weekend, many people were as frustrated as witnessing Garnacho's clumsy shots.
Garnacho's starting position, in addition to his remarkable individual efforts, also shows that Man United do not have many options to replace him. With Garnacho out of form, Amad Diallo and Antony out, Ten Hag has failed to find a suitable replacement.
Last season, Garnacho averaged 3.51 shots/90 minutes. This number has increased to 3.83. However, the 20-year-old striker's expected goals (xG) is only 0.46. This number is already low but it is several times higher than Garnacho's xG in the previous season (0.12). This shows that Garnacho has improved, but this improvement is too slow in terms of quality.
Despite such a bad xG, Garnacho is currently the player with the most goals and assists in the team (G/A). The Argentine striker has 10 G/A (6 goals, 4 assists) after 1,121 minutes of play in all competitions. Garnacho is among the 7 players with the most minutes on the field in the team. The six players above him are all over 26 years old, which means Garnacho is the most trusted player in the group of young players.
The arrival of Ruben Amorim is expected to change many of Man United's remaining problems, one of which is improving Garnacho's finishing ability. If Amorim applies the 3-4-3 formation like at Sporting, the number of strikers on the field will be less. At that time, the competition for the starting position will become increasingly fierce. However, if you look at the "Red Devils" squad right now, not many people are doing better than Garnacho even though this striker himself has quite bad results.
Garnacho is considered to be able to start Amorim's wing-leading formation because he is young and very physically plump. In the context that Luke Shaw has not yet scheduled a return date from injury, Garnacho alone can cover most of Man United's left wing.
If Amorim pushes Garnacho from the left to the right, the star's attacking ability will be limited. Not to mention that Amorim loves playing on the wing and pushing the ball into the penalty area, pushing Garnacho to the opposite wing also makes the team's attacking system unable to operate according to Amorim's wishes as what he is doing at Sporting.
Garnacho has made 63 appearances under Erik ten Hag and has been substituted 39 times. This means the young Argentine striker can also play the role of weakening opponents in the early stages of the match and giving his teammates who are still fit to be put on the field to score. This is also a way for Amorim to learn from the use of Garnacho.
If he had not played just wide, Garnacho would have been forced to move deeper inside to play right behind the striker. This is a position that will have great competition and even this striker is not used to it. That said, although he is considered an irreplaceable pillar, when the new coach arrives, Garnacho will no longer have a starting position. This young star will be forced to change to adapt.
