Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo nominated for prestigious award alongside former £60m Man United target

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Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo have both enjoyed excellent years at Manchester United.

A lot has changed at Manchester United since the start of 2024.

We are quickly approaching the one-year anniversary of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority takeover of the club and he has made sweeping changes at Old Trafford.

There is now an entirely new leadership team at United with CEO Omar Berrada at the top of the hierarchy. There has also been a change of manager with Ruben Amorim welcomed to Carrington this week.

There have been plenty of ups and downs for United, who won the FA Cup but also had their lowest-ever Premier League finish.

In a year of mixed emotions, there are two players that have been on a constant upward trajectory – Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho.

Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho have become Man United stars

Mainoo and Garnacho had already got their foot in the door of the first team at the start of 2024, but as we approach the end of the year they are now superstars in this United squad.

Garnacho leads the way as United’s top scorer this season with seven goals in 18 appearances.

Rio Ferdinand believes Garnacho can be a “superstar” at United. At just 20 years old, he still has plenty of time to develop and reach his potential.

As for Mainoo, the 19-year-old had a meteoric rise to stardom this year after becoming a regular starter under Erik ten Hag and earning a spot in England’s Euro 2024 squad.

READ MORE: ‘I won’t say…’ Kobbie Mainoo disagrees with Erik ten Hag over FA Cup claim

Mainoo can become ‘one of the best players in history’ according to teammate Amad Diallo and now with Amorim in charge, Mainoo can take his performances to a new level after being left isolated in Ten Hag’s system.

Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho nominated for Globe Soccer award

Back in September, FIFA announced that Garnacho and Mainoo were on the 10-man shortlist for the Kopa Trophy.

Garnacho and Mainoo were told they have ‘no chance’ of winning but United’s duo both finished high in the voting.

Lionel Messi voted Garnacho in third but he ended up finishing joint-sixth. Mainoo finished third in the voting.

Now, the two academy stars have been nominated for the Globe Soccer Emerging Player 2024 award.

Alongside them in the nominations is former £60m United target Joao Neves, who completed a move to PSG despite being strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford.