If Manchester United are to take anything away from the turbulent post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, it should be that often the best course of action is to promote from within, rather than investing heavily in the transfer market.
In truth, excluding the presence of Bruno Fernandes – who boasts 150 goals and assists for the club – the major shining lights of the last decade or so have been academy graduates, rather than high-profile incomings.
Indeed, Marcus Rashford has dazzled – inconsistently at times – ever since his debut brace against FC Midtjylland back in February 2016, while even Scott McTominay emerged as a real force prior to his summer exit, having netted ten times in all competitions last season.
Erik ten Hag’s time at the helm has notably coincided with the rise of both Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, with the young pairing having poetically proven the difference in May’s FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City.
While Mainoo has endured a sticky start to the new season after being struck down by injury prior to the international break, Garnacho continues to steal the limelight…
Garnacho's Man Utd record
Although not exactly a ‘homegrown’ talent in the eyes of some – having been signed from Atletico Madrid as a 16-year-old back in 2020 – the Spain-born, Argentina international has blossomed from youth sensation into first-team hero in recent years.
The star of United’s FA Youth Cup success in 2022, after netting a brace in the final, the wing wizard has enjoyed a relatively smooth transition to life in the senior set-up, even shaking off initial concerns regarding his attitude.
Ever since scoring his first goal for the club away to Real Sociedad in November 2022, the youngster hasn’t looked back, now boasting 33 goals and assists in 99 games in all competitions.
That includes a return of eight goal involvements in 13 games already in 2024/25, with it no surprise that Ten Hag lauded him as his side’s “best player” earlier this month.
Still only 20, the speedy sensation – who reportedly earns ‘just’ £50k-per-week at Old Trafford – is already one of the most successful Argentines to have turned out for the club, in stark contrast to the costly capture of one notable compatriot, Angel Di Maria.
Angel Di Maria's total cost to Man Utd
It says a lot that arguably Di Maria’s most memorable moment at the Theatre of Dreams came in a Paris Saint-Germain shirt, having been sent flying into the advertising hoardings courtesy of a ‘kind’ nudge from former teammate, Ashley Young.
There was of course that delightful dink against Leicester City – which came amid a haul of 15 goal involvements in total in 2014/15 – yet such moments of magic were few and far between, with both parties having been keen to separate as soon as possible at the end of that debut season.
On the face of it, the initial capture of the Real Madrid star had appeared something of a coup, with then-United chief Ed Woodward forking out roughly £59.7m to land a player who had claimed the Man of the Match award in the Champions League final just a few months prior.
That marquee move – which saw Di Maria handed the club’s famed number seven shirt – ultimately tumbled toward disaster, with club legend Gary Neville later dubbing the playmaker an “awful” signing for the club.
Even though he only lasted a solitary season in Manchester before sealing a £44.3m switch to Paris, what did not help matters was the hefty wage that the current Benfica man was also raking in at the time, having taken home a £250k-per-week salary – working out to £13m a year.
Not only is that five times more than what young Garnacho is earning in the present day, but it also ensures that Di Maria cost roughly £72m in total, when combining his initial transfer fee and total pay packet.
A particularly expensive mistake then for Woodward and co, with the player later admitting that he had never actually wanted to sign in the first place, having outlined that his “intention was always to stay at Real Madrid”.
Club
Games
Goals
Assists
PSG
295
93
119
Real Madrid
190
36
85
Benfica
181
34
44
Juventus
40
8
7
Rosario Central
39
6
2
Man Utd
32
4
11
Total
777
181
268
Perhaps – as far as United are concerned – he should well have stayed put at the Bernabeu, rather than linking up with the “worst coach of [his] career” in Louis van Gaal, with the addition of the World Cup winner certainly one of many costly errors of the last ten years or so.
Thankfully, the club now do have an Argentine talent worth his salt, in the form of the game-changer Garnacho.
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