Manchester United have dropped an intriguing hint about the identity of their next ‘number seven’ with an Alejandro Garnacho themed quiz on the Premier League club’s website.
Just how soon is ‘too soon’?
Adnan Januzaj probably could have done without the added pressure of becoming the first Manchester United player to don Ryan Giggs’s number 11 shirt since the late 1980s. Antonio Valencia famously ditched the number seven after just one season in 2013, and bounced back better than ever with ’25’ on his back.
Alejandro Garnacho’s seemingly impervious self-confidence, however, at least stands him in very good stead if the 18-year-old is asked to thrive where Memphis Depay, Angel di Maria and Alexis Sanchez flopped.
Alejandro Garnacho could become Man United’s new number 7
Garnacho, the teenage whizzkid who made such an impact during his breakthrough season at Old Trafford, feels like a man just waiting for such responsibility to be piled upon his ever-broadening shoulders.
While many more experienced players have cowered in the unforgiving glare of the United goldfish bowl, Garnacho embraces it. Everything about him – from the Stranger Things tattoos to the peroxide haircut to the swaggering stride and the ruthless end product – just seems to scream ‘look at me and love me’.
Aura, thy name is Alejandro.
The prospect of Garnacho inheriting the shirt famously worn by Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Eric Cantona has been the subject of much discussion on social media of late.
And the caption which accompanied a Garnacho-themed quiz on the Man United website on Friday certainly did not go unnoticed by those Twitter sleuths.
‘If you’re a true fan of Alejandro, then you’ll score at least seven out of ten,’ it read, ‘winking’ emoji included.
‘Changes the game’
Now, it’s unlikely the United admin was simply paying tribute to their favourite Brad Pitt thriller. Or, perhaps, to the late Len Goodman.
The Manchester Evening News now report, on the back of that less-than subtle hint, that Garnacho is now under consideration to become the youngest recipient of United’s most iconic shirt number since a brace-toothed, blonde-tipped Cristiano Ronaldo skipped his way over to Manchester from Sporting Lisbon two decades ago.
“Garnacho comes on and changes the game,” United legend Rio Ferdinand told Vibe with Five in January; the twinkle-toed teen assisting Marcus Rashford’s winner in the Manchester derby.
“He is saying to the manager; ‘Get me on that pitch ASAP because I’m producing moments every time I go on. How can you make me sub?’.
“That’s what his performances are saying and I love it. The manager is using him perfectly well at the minute because he is impacting games.”
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