Manchester United are preparing to offer Alejandro Garnacho a new contract after impressing Erik ten Hag at the start of this season.
The 18-year-old has made three first-team appearances so far this term, coming on in United's Europa League outings against Real Sociedad and Sherriff, after featuring in their opening day defeat at home to Brighton. He has also been involved in United's matchday squad on five more occasions but failed to feature.
Garnacho has been a shining light in the Red Devils' Papa Johns Trophy campaign, with United's U21s winning both of their matches so far. The Uruguayan chipped in with an assist in United's 2-1 success over Carlisle, before scoring as the Red Devils beat Barrow by the same scoreline last week.
As a reward for his impressive start, Ten Hag is ready to offer Garnacho a bumper new contract. According to AS, as relayed by the Sun, United chiefs will discuss a new deal with the winger and his agents, who still has two-and-a-half years left on his current contract. The club, though, want to extend his stay beyond that.
Garnacho was a regular in United's first-team squad in pre-season and the youngster started their final friendly against Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford, with the player partnering Cristiano Ronaldo in attack. Although the Red Devils didn't win, it was a huge learning curve for Garnacho, who only turned 18 until July.
After his performance against Vallecano, Ten Hag said: "He played pretty well. He is just a teenager but his performance was really good."
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Real Madrid are reportedly tracking the teenager and have been watching his progress "pretty closely" after Garnacho enjoyed a breakout season in 2021/22. He amassed a total of 14 goals and six assists in 34 appearances across all competitions for United's U18s as they won the FA Youth Cup.
He was tipped to break into the first-team after Ralf Rangnick handed him brief cameos towards the end of last season against both Chelsea and Crystal Palace. Garnacho is yet to start a competitive game, but with United facing a daunting fixture list before the World Cup, the winger could be given a chance then.
Garnacho isn't the only player with an uncertain future at United. Ronaldo still wants to leave, having been denied a summer exit, with the Portugal international struggling for regular action so far this term. Defenders Phil Jones, Axel Tuanzebe and Brandon Williams have all been deemed surplus to requirements.
And United could also cut Aaron Wan-Bissaka loose at the end of the season, with the right-back failing to make an impression on Ten Hag so far. The Red Devils could be in for a busy January and summer transfer window as Ten Hag looks to reshape his squad.
