Ten Hag: Garnacho has the potential

The Argentina international was a predominant topic in the briefing with journalists, which comes as no shock given the forward's contributions in the early part of the season.

He notched what was shaping up to be the late winner in our Community Shield bout against Manchester City, before an even later intervention from Bernado Silva, and laid on the assist for Joshua Zirkzee's debut goal against Fulham to seal all three points on the opening day of the Premier League season.

Both of those goal involvements came from the bench, piquing the interest of media regarding Garnacho's role in the squad and what sort of level the Academy product can reach.

Responding to a question on whether the forward is world-class, Ten Hag was keen to temper expectations on one of the younger members of his squad.

"You have gone very quickly," the Dutchman said. "World-class is something where he has to go a long way. He has a high potential, 100 per cent. But last season he contributed and he can be a starting-XI player."

Although clearly wanting to avoid piling pressure on Garnacho's shoulders, Ten Hag couldn't help but agree he has all the ingredients to get there one day.

He continued: "To make that jump to being a world-class player, he has a long way to go. It starts with hard work.

"That has brought him to where he is now and that will bring him to being a world-class player because I agree he has the potential."

Garnacho will hope that his early-season offerings have now put him in a good position for a starting spot this weekend against Brighton & Hove Albion.

That decision, of course, ultimately rests with Ten Hag, who was eager to state the importance of last week's supporting cast, backed by the United manager's preference for referring to 'finishers' rather than substitutes.

"Show it [deserving a starting spot] every day on the training pitch and, of course, in every minute you can get," the boss said. "That is not only about the starters, but also the finishers. So I was very pleased last week with the two players who came on, Zirkzee and Garnacho, making a difference.

"That is what we need throughout the whole season, as we know we do not win with just 11 players in games and in between games, you need more than 11 players to win the football games."

The electric forward experienced his best season to date last term - netting seven times in the league, including that iconic bicycle kick at Goodison Park - but will be setting out to go one better this time around. He got off to the perfect start with his productive cameo against Fulham.

Whether he can carry that momentum through to this weekend remains to be seen, but it would be no surprise to see him back among the action on the south coast.

United travel to the Amex Stadium to face Brighton on Saturday, in our second Premier League fixture of the 2024/25 season, with kick-off slated for 12:30 BST.

Be sure to tune into MUTV for Matchday Live from 11:25 BST on the day, where you'll find exclusive match build-up from former Reds Phil Bardsley and Danny Simpson.