Ten Hag: Garnacho has high potential
Alejandro Garnacho's goal drew comparisons to both Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney after his incredible overhead kick against Everton on Sunday afternoon.
The teenager's spectacular strike opened the scoring at Goodison Park, in a 3-0 Reds win, and reminded fans of similar efforts conjured up by the two aforementioned Manchester United greats.
Rooney’s remarkable finish against Manchester City in 2011 is considered to be one of the best goals in our club’s entire history, while Ronaldo acrobatically netted a sensational effort for Real Madrid against Juventus during the 2017/18 season.
Those moments were highlights in the legends' respective careers, and Erik ten Hag was asked in his post-match press conference if he believes 19-year-old Alejandro can go on to enjoy a similar journey in football.
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Ten Hag understandably wouldn’t be drawn into the comparison involving one of his young players, but he stated his appreciation for the goal and explained what it would take for the forward to follow in the footsteps of those iconic stars.
“Don't compare, I don't think it's right,” said Erik, in his post-match press conference.
“They all have their own identity, but for Garnacho to go that way, he still has a lot to come. He has to work very hard, and you have to do it on a consistent basis.
“So far, he’s not, but he definitely has high potential and [is able] to do some amazing things. And it's not the first time we saw this [talent], we have already seen glimpses.
“But what I say, if you want to be a player like you mentioned, like Rooney, Ronaldo, you have to score 20, 25 goals in the Premier League, and that's not easy to get,” the boss added.
“You have to work very hard. You have to go in areas where it hurts. And so, [there is] a lot to come, but he has potential.”
It was not solely the finish that impressed Erik with Garnacho’s effort either, as he dubbed it potentially our Goal-of-the-Season winner already.
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“The switch of play from Victor [Lindelof] to [Marcus] Rashford, the overlap, the cross. So [it was] very good.
“This season [there are] still many games to play, but [it is] probably already maybe the Goal of the Season.
“And as I said before, not only the finish [pleased me]. I think it was total from the back to the end, but the finish is incredible.”