Man Utd face repeat of Alejandro Garnacho mess as theory shows true priorities
Shaun Wright-Phillips has warned that Manchester United risk alienating their young talents if they opt for a sell-to-buy strategy this summer.
The ex-Manchester City and Chelsea midfielder highlighted the predicament of Alejandro Garnacho, who seems to have fallen out of favour with Ruben Amorim. Wright-Phillips also expressed concern over 20-year-old Kobbie Mainoo's situation, as he looks to be struggling to adapt to his manager's system.
Wright-Phillips suggests that academy product Mainoo and Garnacho, who was bought for £420,000, could be seen as valuable assets. The United board appears willing to let the duo leave for a substantial fee in order to alleviate concerns over Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Marcus Rashford, another homegrown talent, also looks set to bring in a hefty sum for United this summer. With the club facing financial difficulties after a disastrous season that saw them miss out on European football, significant player sales may be needed to boost their transfer funds.
United have already splashed out £62.5 million on Matheus Cunha from Wolves, reports the Manchester Evening News. According to Wright-Phillips, the Red Devils are now in a state of uncertainty, seemingly ready to cash in on players once considered the future of the club.
"I don't think they should be getting rid of key players like that," Wright-Phillips told Betway. "Because the same thing in many ways has happened to Kobbie Mainoo without even saying anything. He's just not been playing either and he was that golden child, as well, about a year ago.
"It's either that or they're trying to raise money from players they've not had to pay for. Because some of their selling, I'm not really understanding."
Garnacho was limited to just 20 minutes in United's Europa League final defeat by Tottenham. The 20-year-old now finds himself on the brink of an Old Trafford exit with teams such as Chelsea and Napoli linked with the Argentinian for around £50m-£60m.
The young winger hit out after the humbling loss in Bilbao, branding United's season "s**t" and adding that he would wait to see what his future holds. Wright-Phillips believes that Amorim and United have poorly handled Garnacho's situation. "It's a hard one because I do think he's a fantastic winger," Wright-Phillips added.
"I like wingers that try and take on their defenders, entertain, because that's what I based my game off –entertaining the crowd, trying to make the full-back's life hell. Garnacho does that in multiple ways.
"He was obviously hurt by the decision not to start him in the final, which, to be honest, I didn't understand either, considering he had started all the other games and played really well in most of them."
He continued: "But before the game, the manager's seen something tactically different – whether it worked or didn't work. When he brings him on, that's when the game changed, and it was more United than Spurs, because he was causing them all sorts of problems.
"It obviously hurt him deeply, and I think the manager should have just pulled him aside and said, 'Look, I know you were hurt, but you could have just come and said it to me, you didn't have to go public'. But he's gone public. I just think there's a better way for the manager and the club to handle it."
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