Manchester United are rarely short of bright young talent and Alejandro Garnacho appears to be the next teenage star to burst onto the scene at Old Trafford.
The former Atletico Madrid academy prospect is starting to make a compelling case as to why he should be a first-team regular with his stellar performances in recent weeks. Garnacho enjoyed another bright display against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup in front of the Red Devils faithful.
Introduced around the hour mark, Garnacho managed to register two assists during his 30-minute cameo - the second of which was absolutely spectacular. The young Argentine picked the ball up on the left side of the pitch around 45 yards from goal and delivered the most inviting cross that landed onto the boot of Scott McTominay.
The Scottish midfielder could hardly miss from such close range and netted United's fourth, but it was Garnacho who earned plenty of the plaudits for his Kevin De Bruyne-esque assist. Christian Eriksen's reaction in particular told its own story.
It is often the case that the player who actually puts the ball in the back of the net is the one team-mates react to first, but such was the beauty of Garnacho's whipped cross, Eriksen couldn't help but point in the 18-year-old's direction and acknowledge the fantastic pass before congratulating McTominay.
Garnacho's short United career has gone from strength to strength recently, with the teenager showing great composure to bag his first senior goal during the 1-0 away win over Real Sociedad earlier this month.
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With that being said, it hasn't all been plain-sailing for the Spain-born Argentine. The high of bagging his first goal may have been brought crashing back down to earth with comments made by team-mate Bruno Fernandes.
The Portugal international was pressed for comment on Garnacho's goal-scoring heroics and while he admitted he was happy for him, Fernandes did also reveal the teenager's attitude in pre-season left plenty to be desired and is the reason we are only seeing these kind of performances now.
"He is good but he knows we expect a lot from him," the 28-year-old told BT Sport. "He’s obviously still really young and he’s doing really well.
"At the beginning of the season he was not at his best, in the [pre-season] tour he didn’t have the best attitude that he should have had, and that’s why he didn’t get his chances until now.
"Now he’s getting his chances because he’s training better, he’s having a different attitude and he’s deserving his chances. Everyone is really happy for him and pleased with his goal."
Hopes are high for Garnacho, but the 18-year-old has shown no sign that he is likely to crumble under the weight of expectation.
