Erik ten Hag's careful plan regarding star Alejandro Garnacho has been hailed following the teenager's recent form - although the Manchester United forward has been told he's not yet ready to wear the club's iconic No. 7 shirt number.
The 18-year-old scored a stunning late winner for United at Craven Cottage last month, whilst also impressing in cameos against Real Sociedad and Aston Villa. Garnacho is currently away with the Reds on a winter training camp, with Ten Hag 's side preparing to take on both Cadiz and Real Betis in upcoming club friendlies.
Having made a stellar breakthrough following a troubled pre-season, the former Atletico Madrid youngster has given United another dimension to their attack, especially given the poor form suffered by Jadon Sancho as of late. With the season set to spring back into life in just a few weeks' time, Wes Brown believes Garnacho's mindset is something that has to be praised given his relatively young age.
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Asked whether Garnacho could be United's next No. 7 following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, Brown told Metro via bet365: "Maybe not just yet, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. He is a great young player, I love his attitude on the pitch, the way he wants it, the way he attacks. With young kids sometimes, it like, 'give me the ball and I will give it straight back to you'."
"But he’s not into that, he wants to show everyone how good he is. He wants to do well for himself and do well for the team. I think the manager has done well too holding off on him for quite a long time in that first period of the season. I know he has been training with the lads every day and he has probably been a bit frustrated he hasn’t been involved a little bit earlier."
Brown added: "There are quite a few wide players, if someone is not playing well, there is a respect there that if Garnacho keeps playing well, he is going to keep playing. He steps everyone’s levels up. We have quite a few players who can play in those positions so it’s a huge boost. It gives the manager a headache but it is good for fans if they are all battling and there is no sulking going on."
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