Erik ten Hag has been told not to be too hasty in passing on the No.7 shirt at Manchester United following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 37-year-old superstar recently left Old Trafford after a fallout with Ten Hag, who's now preparing for life without him once the the World Cup is over. Ronaldo leaves behind a wave of controversy and also the club's most iconic shirt number.
Worn by the likes of George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham, Ronaldo retook the mantle when he returned for a second spell with the Red Devils in August 2021. Now the No.7 is up for grabs again and some have tipped breakout star Alejandro Garnacho to be handed the responsibility - despite the 18-year-old having made just one Premier League start.
"Maybe not just yet, and I don't mean that in a bad way," former United defender and Ronaldo's ex-teammate, Wes Brown, told the Metro. "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's 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.
"But that has helped him, getting that bit of anger out to show that he is good enough to play in this team. Now it is just about managing that."
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Although Garnacho's rise has swept up the Old Trafford faithful, the Spanish-born Argentina international is yet to nail down a place in Ten Hag's first-choice XI, having only been a substitute before scoring his last-minute winner at Fulham prior to the World Cup break. Brown went on to acknowledge that the Red Devils have a host of wingers who're capable of keeping Garnacho out, too, but right now, he can't fault the starlet.
"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 [else]'s levels up," the United cult hero, who won 11 trophies with the club, went on.
"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 s good for fans if they are all battling and there is no sulking going on. That is what makes a winning team. You play so well that the manager just can’t take you out."
