Alejandro Garnacho: Everything to know about young Man Utd player | age, height, country, position

The floppy-haired kid takes the ball and a huge touch makes most believe it is escaping out for a throw in. They don’t anticipate his legs flicking backwards and forwards over the grass like two happy dog tails out-wagging each other and the winger has no problems in caressing the ball back into safety...

No. Instead of a careful tap he smacks it forwards again, the poor defender continues to chase but his wilting sunflower head is dropping and his arms begin to act like temporary oars as he attempts to swim through the air to keep up. Another defender missiles his way towards the danger, a flashing red siren moving closer and closer, the far-away blur of the zig-zag Adidas collar coming into focus.

Garnacho: a taste of the future

It’s a nice way to keep up the defender’s confidence, by making them think they can, right up until the last minute. Then you smash it into pieces and giggle as you run past. The winger lays free cookies out on the floor between big touches of the ball, tempting him in just too far to back out and save face before turning up the dial to 300 and, well, making him look rather silly for even trying.

He is away, and now one on one with the goalkeeper, who stretches out into his best grizzly bear impression, noise and all (probably). The ball is now within the six-yard box, and Manchester United’s top prospect slips the ball into the tiny gap of the crazy golf windmill, rips his shirt off in celebration and turns around to see the devastation that lies behind him. The Old Trafford scoreboard flashes 4-1 to Manchester United but nobody cares, everybody is too busy typing into Google “how do you spell Garnacho?”

Ronaldo or, erm, Ronaldo - take your pick!

Born in Madrid on 1 July 2004 - yes, depressingly recent, I know - Alejandro Garnacho has represented Spain at youth levels but, because of his Argentinian mother, he was able to be called-up to the Argentinian first team for their World Cup Qualifiers against Venezuela and Ecuador in March 2022.

He signed for Manchester United from Atlético Madrid on 11 September 2020 for a fee of £420,000. His impact was instant and he helped the English side win the FA Youth Cup with goals in the quarter final, mentioned above, before bagging two more in the final, a 3-1 win against Nottingham Forest.

The winger was present on the bench of the first team for a few Premier League games before making his professional debut in a match against Chelsea. Young, hot-prospect winger Anthony Elanga was replaced by young, hot-prospect winger Garnacho - seriously, what do Manchester United fans have to complain about? - in the 91st minute of a 1-1 draw.

A surprise starter against Sheriff, the first of his professional career, Garnacho demonstrated why so many managers have liked what they have seen of him. Cristiano Ronaldo will steal the front-page headlines for his performance versus the Tiraspol club, but the column at the side will no doubt have the gapped-teeth smile of the young winger, and that’s the piece you should be reading.

Alejandro Garnacho: player file