Last season, Garnacho's playing opportunities were limited in the early stages. It was not until November 2023, in the League Cup fourth round match against Newcastle, that the Argentine striker marked his fourth appearance for the "Red Devils".
However, after a series of rare opportunities to start, Garnacho's appearance frequency increased significantly. He was constantly in the starting lineup and gradually became an irreplaceable person in Erik ten Hag's starting lineup. At the end of the season, Garnacho himself 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 other team-mate. Captain Bruno Fernandes is next in line for the most consecutive appearances. He and Garnacho are the only two players to have played more than 3,560 minutes for United last season.
At just 20 years old, 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 frustrated as they witnessed Garnacho's clumsy shots.
Garnacho's starting position, in addition to his remarkable individual efforts, also shows that Man United do not have many replacement options. When Garnacho's form was down, Amad Diallo and Antony were not used, Ten Hag could not find a possible replacement.
Last season, Garnacho averaged 3.51 shots per 90 minutes. That number has since increased to 3.83. However, the 20-year-old striker's expected goals (xG) is just 0.46. This is already low, but it is several times higher than Garnacho's own xG last season (0.12). This shows that Garnacho has improved, but the improvement has been too slow in terms of quality.
Despite his poor xG, Garnacho is currently the player with the most goals and assists on 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 in the group of 7 players with the most minutes on the field on the team. The 6 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 to improve 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 stats.
Garnacho is considered to be able to start in Amorim's wing-oriented formation because he is young and very physically fit. In the context that Luke Shaw is still not scheduled to return from injury, Garnacho alone can cover most of Man United's left wing.
If Amorim pushes Garnacho from the left wing to the right, the attacking ability of this star will be limited. Not to mention that Amorim loves to play on the wing and push 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 can also play a role in wearing down opponents in the early stages of the game, allowing his fit teammates to come on and bombard the pitch. This is also a way Amorim can learn from how to use Garnacho.
If he doesn't play purely as a winger, Garnacho will have to move deeper inside to play right behind the striker. This is a position that will have great competition and the striker himself is not used to it. That said, although he is considered an irreplaceable pillar, when the new coach comes, Garnacho will no longer have a natural starting position. This young star will be forced to change to adapt.
