Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has claimed that Alejandro Garnacho has the potential to become the next Cristiano Ronaldo.
After joining the Red Devils academy back in 2020, the 19-year-old signed his first professional contract with United in the following year. The youngster made his senior debut last year before establishing himself as a key member of Ten Hag’s first-team squad in recent times.
The Argentinian has come under the spotlight after scoring a magnificent goal versus Everton. Garnacho started the game against the Toffees at Goodison Park last night and managed to stun everyone with his fantastic overhead strike within the first few minutes of the game.
The 19-year-old’s goal is pretty similar to Wayne Rooney’s strike against Manchester City in 2011 and Ronaldo’s in the Champions League knockout stage versus Juventus in 2018.
Now, during the post-match press-conference after the game, Ten Hag was asked whether Garnacho can have a similar career as Ronaldo and Rooney having scored a stunning goal like them, the United boss said that Garnacho is a very talented player and possesses the potential to become a world-class player like Ronaldo or Rooney.
Ten Hag says Garnacho has huge potential
However, the Dutch boss reminds everyone that Garnacho has to work hard and prove himself by scoring 20-25 goals in the Premier League consistently to be considered a world-class player in the future.
Ten Hag said:
“Don’t compare, I don’t think it’s right. They all have their own identity, but for Garnacho to go that way, he still has a lot to come. He has to work very hard, and you have to do it on a consistent basis. So far, he’s not, but he definitely has high potential and [is able] to do some amazing things. And it’s not the first time we saw this [talent], we have already seen glimpses.
“But what I say, if you want to be a player like you mentioned, like Rooney, Ronaldo, you have to score 20, 25 goals in the Premier League, and that’s not easy to get. You have to work very hard. You have to go in areas where it hurts. And so, [there is] a lot to come, but he has potential.”
United eventually managed to defeat Everton 3-0 and this win will be a confidence-boosting victory for Ten Hag’s side ahead of two crucial games against Galatasaray in the Champions League and Newcastle United in the Premier League.
