The 'jewel' of Madrid: Who is Manchester United wonderkid Alejandro Garnacho?

Sean Fisher
22 March 2022

The 17-year-old has shone for the Red Devils’ youth team this season, and has earned a call up to the Argentina national team.

Alejandro Garnacho has been attracting plenty of attention this season. The 17-year-old winger joined Manchester United's academy in 2020 and has quickly become one of the finest youth prospects at the club.

But what makes Garnacho so highly spoken of? Well, from dazzling solo goals to an Argentina call-up alongside Lionel Messi, Planet Sport takes a look at United's up-and-coming wonderkid.

A Spanish jewel

Garnacho grew up in Madrid and featured in Atletico Madrid's youth academy for five years, starting out as an 11-year-old in 2015.

In October 2020, Manchester United scouts recommended signing the young star and he ended up moving to Old Trafford for a fee of £419,000.

The Red Devils had to fend off interest from Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund to sign Garnacho, who had been featuring in Atletico's Under-19 side that season.

Garnacho was considered one of Atletico's brightest talents, with the Spanish side's coaching staff labelling him the 'Jewel' due to his extreme talent and technical ability.

Joining Manchester United

Garnacho hit the ground running at Old Trafford, and slotted straight into the club's under-18 side.

Featuring frequently in the U18 Premier League, Garnacho made 17 appearances in the competition in his first season, recording an impressive seven goals and three assists.

His performances earned him praise from former United academy graduate David Jones, who described the young Argentine as a "moments man".

"He's a moments man, he produces moments when you need it. I'm really impressed with him with each game," said Jones.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alejandro Garnacho (@garnacho7)

But Garnacho upped his level in the 2021/22 season and has scored 10 goals and registered five assists across 27 appearances in all competitions.

It's in the FA Youth Cup that he's really shone, with four goals and three assists from just four games.

He first made headlines with a superb solo goal vs Everton, picking up the ball in his own half and driving through the Toffees defence before calmly slotting past the keeper.

Garnacho then continued his scintillating form with a brace against Leicester City in the quarter-finals. United found themselves a goal down to the Foxes before Garnacho's low-driven free-kick drew them level.

The 17-year-old prospect then scored a stylish late winner, displaying brilliant ball control before lashing in a shot with his left foot to send United into the semi-finals.

If he hadn't already impressed Manchester United fans, a fitting 'Siuuu' celebration imitating Cristiano Ronaldo put a joyful cherry on top.

International call-up

As a result of his outstanding performances for Manchester United, Garnacho was recently called up to the Argentina national team.

In his youth, Garnacho featured for Spain's Under-18 squad, but as he is yet to feature in the senior squad, he's eligible to change nationality to Argentina thanks to his mother.

Lionel Scaloni named the 17-year-old in Argentina's squad ahead of the side's World Cup qualifying matches against Venezuela and Ecuador.

Despite having never played a senior game for either Manchester United or Spain, Garnacho now finds himself training alongside the likes of Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria and Paulo Dybala.

Having now been named in the senior squad, Scaloni will be temped to field the youngster in order to secure his long-term international future, and stop any chance of him pledging alliegance with Spain.

Argentina are also guaranteed to finish inside the top two of their South American qualifying group, meaning Garnacho's involvement bares no risk to their World Cup hopes.

Should Garnacho impress in the blue and white of Argentina, it surely won't be long until he's given a chance in Manchester United's senior team.