Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand rushed to Alejandro Garnacho’s defence as the youngster faced a barrage of criticism.
Having suffered a prolonged goal drought, Garnacho found the back of the net in Man United’s 4-1 loss to Newcastle United.
Still, Garnacho continues to face criticism, with United reportedly looking to cut their asking price for the winger to €45 million as a means of offloading him this summer.
In fact, things appear to have gotten so bad for the Argentine that Nike are reportedly set to drop Garnacho due to his performance slump.
On his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Ferdinand pulled no punches as he shut down any and all criticism of Garnacho.
“Only the superstar ones get it right at a young age. [Cristiano] Ronaldo wasn’t a decision-maker when he came in as a kid. The biggest thing players like Ronaldo had — those who weren’t the finished article — was that they were given time. We’re expecting Garnacho to be the finished article now,” Ferdinand explained, slamming those who expect the youngster to become a superstar quickly and with ease.
“I’m still seeing enough in this kid, in a bang-average team; a below-par team.”
“Inconsistency, sometimes he gets his decision-making wrong, but what he’s got an uncanny knack of always being on the end of something,” Ferdinand insisted. “He always finds a way to get a chance.”
“Who says he won’t improve with time, with good coaching, by observing good practices from professionals around him, and by being in the right environment?”
Ferdinand even voiced his preference for Garnacho compared to other United players, explaining, “I’d rather work with someone that I see getting them chances, getting on the end of things, and creating chances, maybe missing right now at a young age than someone who I’m going ‘I don’t even know if he can finish or not,” Ferdinand added.
“Who says he won’t improve with time, with good coaching, by observing good practices from professionals around him, and by being in the right environment?”
Finally, Ferdinand challenged manager Ruben Amorim to help Garnacho reach his full potential.
“I wanna see a coach get a hold of him and nurture him and make him better. And show him the instances where he gets there: ‘slow yourself down.’”
While criticism of Garnacho’s performances this season has appeared to persist, Ferdinand’s perspective suggests that the young winger still has the talent required to become the kind of attacker that United needs and that his evolution may depend on some witty coaching.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Mathew Cohen
A faithful Manchester United supporter, Mathew has worked as a football writer and analyst for SB Nation, FanSided, and now The Peoples Person. Mathew’s heroes include David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Sir Alex Ferguson, all of whom played their part in creating some special childhood memories.
