Paul Scholes expresses concern that Manchester United may sell a key player who could excel elsewhere, and TEAMtalk has verified the club’s intention to consider offers.
Manchester United has an opportunity to redeem their season by reaching the Europa League final, where they will face Tottenham, who have triumphed over the Red Devils in all three encounters this year.
Alejandro Garnacho will be crucial for Manchester United’s aspirations of winning the Europa League and achieving Champions League qualification. The 20-year-old Argentine appeared to be in a precarious position earlier this year when both he and Marcus Rashford were left out of matchday squads by Ruben Amorim.
However, while Rashford was loaned to Aston Villa, Garnacho dedicated himself at Old Trafford and has gained Amorim’s trust. The forward has been a regular starter under Amorim for the past two to three months, but despite achieving double figures in both goals and assists this season, he does not have a defined role in the starting eleven.
Garnacho performs best on the left wing in a front three, but Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation requires the two players behind the striker to play more centrally, with width supplied by the wing-backs.
When speaking about Garnacho on TNT Sports, United legend, Paul Scholes, revealed his fears Man Utd will sell Garnacho who can score “25-30 goals” per season elsewhere.
“He’s perfect in a regular 4-3-3,” began Scholes (as cited by the MEN). “He will be a real threat. He needs to tidy up his decision-making and finishing, sometimes his final ball is a bit rash but he’s a young player so that’s to be expected.
“I fear we will sell him for £50-£60m for PSR reasons. It’s been rumoured, hasn’t it? I fear he will end up scoring 25 to 30 goals for somebody else, that’s how good I think this lad can be.
“Shoehorning him into this system might be tricky, I’m struggling to find a position for him in Ruben Amorim’s system. I don’t want them to sell him, I hate the thought of that, but I think they could do. I wouldn’t like it. He frustrates me but he’s often the biggest threat for Manchester United.”
As previously noted, Garnacho has been consistently playing in one of the two positions behind the striker recently. However, Matheus Cunha from Wolves is set to join the team, and the Brazilian is expected to partner with Bruno Fernandes in that dual role.
Additionally, with Amad Diallo also vying for starting positions in those areas and Mason Mount showcasing his abilities on Thursday night, Garnacho may soon find himself on the bench more often than he prefers.
Will Man Utd really sell Alejandro Garnacho?
Manchester United was prepared to sell Garnacho in January if their target valuation of £70 million was met. It is crucial to emphasize that the club was not actively seeking to transfer the winger; however, they were open to a sale for financial reasons, as noted by Scholes.
Napoli submitted a bid of €50 million / £42 million, which significantly fell short of United’s asking price. Chelsea considered a move but ultimately decided against making a bid after failing to secure a buyer for Christopher Nkunku. TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Fraser Fletcher, has confirmed Manchester United’s position on Garnacho ahead of the summer transfer window opening on June 1.
Sources have informed Fletcher that United’s position remains unchanged, indicating they will not force Garnacho out but will consider a sale if offers around £70 million are made.
Napoli continues to be linked with Garnacho, while Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid have also expressed interest. However, Leverkusen seems unlikely to finalize a deal as they cannot afford the £70 million expenditure.
Latest Man Utd news – Postecoglou lashes out ahead of Europa League final
In recent developments, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou expressed frustration towards journalists when questioned about whether a victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final would redeem their season. Additionally, Ruben Amorim has publicly asserted that his team’s triumph in the tournament would not compensate for a disappointing domestic performance.
Postecoglou was not impressed when Matt Law of The Telegraph asked: “Manchester United have constantly said this competition won’t save their season – managers have said it, players have said it. Would it save Tottenham’s season, is it different for Tottenham?”
An irked Postecoglou then flipped the question back to the journalist: “You probably know better than me and probably followed this club longer than I have. What do you think a trophy would do for this club?
“Massive,” came the reply.
“Exactly right, so the question answers itself,” Postecoglou explained. “But what’s happening right now is that people are fearing that, that it actually might happen.
“Because it might happen they’re thinking, ‘let’s see how we can tear it down somehow, diminish it somehow by saying it’s been a poor season, we don’t deserve this, we don’t deserve that’, or somehow comparing us to Man United.”
“Maybe if we had Manchester United’s success, maybe I’d have a different view. But I came into this role and I could have been sitting here in 5th position and I guarantee they’d be saying ‘this club needs to win something’.
“That’s exactly what everyone would be saying. Of course, it’s massive because you have to frame it against what this club has been through in the past 15-20 years.
“Man United have got their own journey to go on and maybe if they go 15 years without winning something, they’ll change their perspective on things as well.”
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