Erik ten Hag's Alejandro Garnacho claim speaks volumes in five-way transfer race

Daily Mirror

a day ago

Alejandro Garnacho is being chased by five clubs, with an exit from Manchester United close, two years after Erik ten Hag spoke about what he expects from the winger
Alejandro Garnacho is heading towards the exit at Manchester United having failed to live up to the demands set by Erik ten Hag. United have slapped a £70million asking price on Garnacho in the hope he can help fund their summer rebuild, but even if he does leave for a big fee, the winger will do so having fallen short of Ten Hag's expectations.
United will listen to offers for any of their players in the summer transfer window and Mirror Football understands that Ruben Amorim has told Garnacho he doesn't feature in his plans. The decision came after Garnacho reacted furiously to being left on the bench for the Europa League final and was left out of the squad for United's 2-0 win over Aston Villa on the final day of the season.
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Thankfully for United, there are interested parties, with Napoli, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen all monitoring his situation. The 20-year-old returned 11 goals and 10 assists in 58 games last season and his value is helped by the fact he is under contract until June 2028.
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It is that contract, worth £50,000-a-week and signed in May 2023, which prompted a challenge from Garnacho's former manager, Ten Hag. While congratulating him on his deserved deal, the Dutchman - who is now reportedly among the managers that want to sign him - warned that it would lead to increased expectation.
'First of all, I think he has the prize and it's a prize,' he said. 'He also shows he can make the final step – not only in talent but also, he made it. But now it's a new start, a restart, because now the expectations will be higher, the demands definitely will be higher.
'He is on his way, he is a strong character and that's why he's there in the moment on this level, and he did it by himself. But now is coming more work to go because the demands are higher, we expect more from him. But it's great he made it because it tells we will give young players opportunities, but they have to deserve it.
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'When I say 'give', translate it to 'deserve' and they have to deserve with their feet, they have to show it on the pitch and that means you have to invest a lot and deserve it by training performances, by performance in the under-21s, then wait for your moment and prove it again.
'For Alejandro, he is that step beyond but now the demands will be even more because he has now to compete for a starting XI position. So, every time is the same: you have to cross limits and every time you have to go in the next level. We go with him in that challenge but most important is the player has to do it.'
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