Alejandro Garnacho burst onto the scene during the 2022/23 season, making Manchester United fans fall in love with him.
Since then, he’s been an important part of their squad, working alongside experienced coaches like Erik ten Hag, Steve McClaren, Ruben Amorim, and Mitchell van der Gaag.
His game has been inconsistent, including multiple match days without any goal contributions, and fans have been upset with his decision-making.
Still, it’s important to note that he is only 20 years old.
Not every player has Ballon d’Or-worthy campaigns at such a young age, and rumours are swirling about him getting a transfer away as Man United want to cash in on him.
But he has some great foundations to build upon that can make him a Ballon d’Or contender one day.
In this Alejandro Garnacho analysis, we will dive into his strengths and weaknesses, the role he plays at Man United, where he thrives most, and his potential as a player or future clubs he may fit in if he were to transfer away from Manchester United.
He has nine goals and eight assists in 45 games this season, totalling 2,665 minutes across all competitions, which is roughly 29 full matches and a market value of €50m.
Alejandro Garnacho Radar Chart
Alejandro Garnacho’s radar map highlights his strengths as a winger with a strong goal threat.
His shots per 90 (92.1 percentile) and opponent penalty area touches per 90 (96.2 percentile) show how often he gets into dangerous positions, making him a constant threat in the final third.
His dribbles per 90 (85.8 percentile) further emphasise his ability to take on defenders and progress the ball individually, which we will touch on later.
His expected goal contribution per 90 (68.85 percentile) suggests he is a reliable attacking outlet, though there is room for improvement in converting chances into actual goal contributions.
In possession, he is not the most involved playmaker, with progressive passes per 90 (28.3 percentile) and dangerous passes per 90 (57.6 percentile) being decent but not standout worthy.
Defensively, he excels in defensive duels won (93.7 percentile) but struggles in the air, winning only 22.4% of aerial duels.
Alejandro Garnacho Dribbling Abilities
Garnacho is an outstanding ball carrier who can carry the ball in tight spaces and hold up well, similar to Jack Grealish, who excels in this role for Manchester City.
However, regarding actual dribbling ability, Garnacho stands out due to his confidence and willingness to take on 1v1 duels and try to get past his opponent.
His decision-making in these battles can sometimes be problematic, as he occasionally misses opportunities that could be dangerous.
However, his confidence remains a constant trait in his game.
Like the image above, Garnacho is eyeing this battle to try to get past the opponent into that space circled behind.
The game is tied at 1-1 with only a few minutes left.
This is a dangerous opportunity and a great chance to get a shot at net, but there isn’t any momentum in his run to try and beat the opponent.
He still tries, which is a great sign of confidence, but then cheaply loses the ball when he could have swung it to the top of the box for one of those players on the edge of the 18-yard.
This is one of the sorts of things that Manchester United fans get angry with him, which is cheaply losing the ball.
But great dribblers take opportunities—sometimes it won’t work, and sometimes it will.
People will only say something when it doesn’t work; Lionel Messi hasn’t ever had a 100% completion rate in his dribbles, either.
That said, you can see how well he can position his team when it works.
He’s great at dropping his shoulders and sending his opponent the other way, as in the image above, when he’s sending the defender the other way.
The Aston Villa player’s knees are pointing in the wrong direction, and he’s making a run right past him when he spins the defender off balance.
Alejandro Garnacho Dribbling Video pic.twitter.com/kBP8Orciad
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 17, 2025
Garnacho is an elite tight-space dribbler.
In closed-out spaces, either near the touchline like above or in the box, he can take little quick touches that get him away from the opponent.
Like in the clip above, when he gets by two players near the touchline as he was trapped in.
Right at the end of the clip, you can see how he attempts a cross that hits the opponent’s leg and offers nothing.
That’s the part of his product that needs improvement.
Once you finish the dribbling part, what will you do next? That’s what needs to be trained.
The crosses need to be better, the shots need to be better—whatever it is, you need an end goal once you get past your opponent and then the skill to execute it.
Garnacho is still working on that end product.
Alejandro Garnacho Ball Carrying Abilities
Alejandro Garnacho has carried the ball into the box more times, 27, than any other player in the UEFA Europa League this season.
He plays a vital role in helping counterattacks and is a key part of their transitions.
This is the area of the pitch where he plays that similar Jack Grealish role.
This is where he becomes the ball carrier to United to get into the final third.
The first choice is to dribble by the opponent on the left arrow, take a step back and go towards the second arrow, or play the ball into space where his teammate is.
This is the area where he becomes a ball carrier, where he controls the tempo.
Take a look at a comparison of Garnacho and Grealish this season.
The left side stats are for Garnacho, and the right side is for Grealish.
The bars are similar, indicating how similar they are in certain aspects.
Alejandro Garnacho Goalscoring Abilities
Garnacho puts himself in good positions to look at the net and have a shot.
The problem is his rushing in finishing which screws his accuracy.
Sometimes, the shots are rushed, and a great opportunity is wasted.
In this game, he missed two very good chances.
One was unlucky as it hit the crossbar, but this one is the one you can analyse.
He takes one heavy touch and puts himself in a bad scenario, but he scuffs the shot entirely and hits it very wide of the net.
Since his debut for the first team, his finishing has always needed some work.
That’s just the introduction to the big league.
Once he can get that down, he will be more dangerous in converting opportunities.
Garnacho loves to make cuts into the edge of the box to get more central and then looks for the net.
This is an area where he can curl the ball nicely.
Just some work on the accuracy, and he’ll be dangerous in these areas, like Arjen Robben cutting onto his left foot to look for a goal.
Alejandro Garnacho Playmaking Abilities
There’s been a conversation about Garnacho and if he should be in the 10 role, and that’s due to his vision and playmaking skills.
Garnacho can see his teammates’ runs well and understands when to release the ball and where, but sometimes, the weight of the pass is off.
It’s either too soft or too hard.
The idea is there, but the execution just needs a finishing touch.
However, this is being overly critical of a player who is still just 20.
In terms of his “La Pausa,” that’s a great aspect of his creative ability to help his progressive passes.
He can understand the pause, taking a moment before releasing the ball into space, like the example above, which led to an assist.
His playmaking ability is great, but his main role should still be on the wing.
From there, he can come inside into midfield and play forward passes; from the wing, he can help with overlapping runs.
The reason the wing is best for him is his dribbling ability, where he can express himself more.
Clubs Alejandro Garnacho Would Fit At
He needs to be at a club where he could start week in and week out on a team that needs a crucial winger.
That eliminates Spain at the moment since they are loaded with elite wingers.
However, teams like Bayern Munich have been trying to expand their winger rotation.
An interesting club would be Inter Milan, in a left wing-back role.
Juventus also need someone good in possession and a confident 1v1 dribbler.
Napoli has been interested in him and has opened talks with United about him, as they want to replace the wingers who left them.
As for elite clubs, Juventus and Bayern, in a left-wing role, would suit him well.
Given his high defensive work rate, it would also be interesting to see him play LWB at Inter.
As for smaller clubs where he could get consistent playing time and work his way up, Como 1907 with their youngster project would be intriguing, especially if they can manage to stay up in Serie A this season and add more players for a higher league push next year.
Conclusion
Garnacho is already an elite young talent and will be the face of the future generation in football.
A move outside of England, where he can work on his current foundation, may be most beneficial.
He’s a world-class tight-space dribbler and has an insane work ethic that could see him in LWB roles if he needs to put in a shift.
If he can work more on his finishing in front of goal, he can start racking up numbers in G/A and eventually be in the race for a future Ballon d’Or.
