When fans think of the typical Manchester United winger, Ryan Giggs is usually the first name that comes to mind.
Quick, positive and blessed with a never-ending desire to create goalscoring chances, Giggs epitomised Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United side like few others.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrei Kanchelskis, George Best and more; Old Trafford has frequently been home to the most dazzling, most swashbuckling widemen in the English game.
Given what they had become accustomed to when watching Giggs, Ronaldo and co with adoring eyes, it is therefore maybe no surprise that large sections of the fanbase never really warmed to either Antony or the returning Jadon Sancho.
If Giggs was the prototype Man United winger, then Antony and Sancho are perhaps the opposite. So-called ‘system players’ who lack the explosiveness or the raw unpredictability to make something out of nothing, and therefore found themselves comfortably shut out by well-drilled defences more often than not.
In stark contrast, the excitement surrounding Alejandro Garnacho is positively booming.
Manchester United legend excited about Alejandro Garnacho
An old-school throwback of a Man United wideman, it was impossible not to be reminded of Ronaldo circa-2005 when Garnacho cut inside onto his supposedly weaker foot before firing past Ederson in Saturday’s Community Shield. Even Roy Keane was impressed.
Ronaldo blossomed into a truly world-leading talent in his fourth season at Man United. If his Wembley cameo is anything to go by, a seemingly quicker, bulkier, taller Garnacho may be one-year ahead of the legendary Portuguese in his development.
“Garnacho has been a breath of fresh air,” Giggs tells the Webby and O’Neill podcast on YouTube.
“But remember he is a young player and there will be dips. You can’t expect him to be brilliant every game.”
Back in Giggs’ heyday, Manchester United had a pool of talent deeper than the Marianas Trench.
And while Erik ten Hag’s paper-thin frontline almost picked itself last term – Garnacho alone started a remarkable 38 games in a row – this suddenly looks like a Red Devils team with options.
Should Garnacho and the ‘explosive’ Amad Diallo continue to improve, there is no guarantee that even Marcus Rashford will be a nailed-on member of Ten Hag’s XI this season.
Erik ten Hag has options these days
“Marcus has got to back himself and this is what we want; competition for places,” adds Giggs, a 13-time Premier League champion. “Not just in games but every day in training.
“That’s what we had. I don’t like going back to when we were playing but every training session was a battle. I wanted to get one over on Gary Neville, on Rafa da Silva.
“It was easier on a Saturday (in Premier League matches than in training!
“Garnacho (and) Diallo should raise the standards of the likes of Marcus, Antony, Sancho. ‘To get in this team, I’ve got to be better than the players in front of me’ (is what they will be thinking).”
Ten Hag must pick between Rashford, Amad and Garnacho ahead of Friday’s league opener with Fulham. And that’s without mentioning Joshua Zirkzee.
Should the Dutchman opt to continue with his recent four-man midfield set-up, that means there may be room for only two of Rashford, Amad, Garnacho, Zirkzee and Sancho.
When pressed on what he wants to see from his beloved United this season, meanwhile, Giggs said; “Progression, playing the right way, seeing the young players who have come in do well.
“Again, Garnacho, keep improving.”
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