Former Manchester United star Wes Brown has urged someone to ‘smash’ Alejandro Garnacho when he returns to Old Trafford with Chelsea this weekend.
Garnacho, joined United as a 16-year-old from Atletico Madrid, progressing through the youth academy before making his senior debut in 2022.
The Argentina international looked set to have a key role to play for years to come, scoring his sensational goal of the season overhead kick against Everton and getting on the scoresheet in the FA Cup final victory against Manchester City in the 2023-24 season.
But the winger’s relationship with Ruben Amorim was strained, with the manager banishing him from the first-team during the summer as the club put him up for sale.
He will return to Manchester on Saturday evening as the Blues head to Old Trafford where the winger will be desperate to inflict some damage on his former side and pile more pressure on Amorim.
While Garnacho was popular with United supporters, he could be in for a hostile reception this weekend.
United have taken just four points from their opening four games of the season, beaten by neighbours Manchester City on Sunday.
With their season in need of a spark, former United star Brown believes some rough treatment in Garnacho’s direction could provide it.
‘We’re gonna have to have courage,’ Brown told MUTV.
‘We’re gonna have to be strong. I think Chelsea are doing okay at the moment. If someone can smash Garnacho that’s even better.
‘We need to make it a game where we get the crowd behind us, and we get opportunities.’
Garnacho scored 10 goals and provided 10 assists in all competitions last season but struggled to maintain a healthy relationship with his manager.
In December last year, he was dropped from the squad ahead of the Manchester derby along with Marcus Rashford but fought his way back into the team in the second-half of the season.
Amorim praised Garnacho for his determination to regain his place in the side and adapt to his system – one that doesn’t naturally accommodate wingers of the Argentine’s ilk.
But things fell apart at the end of the season when Garnacho was left out of the starting XI in the Europa League final against Tottenham, publicly calling out his manager after the game.
Garnacho made his Chelsea debut off the bench in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Brentford.
