Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho has been warned that he must improve his consistency in order to warrant comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo.
It takes something special to justify comparisons to a player with five Ballon d’Or awards to his name, like Ronaldo, but many would argue Garnacho is on a similar path to greatness as he blossoms as a player at Old Trafford.
Garnacho’s comparisons to Ronaldo emerged after his stunning overhead kick against Everton last year. Not only was the goal named the Premier League’s Goal of the Season, but it also saw Garnacho nominated for the prestigious Puskas Award.
Garnacho’s acrobatic strike also drew comparisons with Ronaldo’s bicycle kick for Real Madrid against Juventus in the Champions League, back in 2018.
Although Garnacho is United’s top scorer this season with eight goals across all competitions, John O’Shea claims that comparisons to Ronaldo are premature because the 20-year-old has yet to add consistency to his game.
Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Old Trafford on Dec...
Photo by Stephen White – CameraSport via Getty Images
John O’Shea sends warning to Alejandro Garnacho
Another element of Garnacho’s game that O’Shea wants to see improve is the youngster’s work-rate. The Argentina international can be guilty of not tracking back and supporting his full-back, which is crucial if he’s to play as one of the wing-backs in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 system.
Speaking to GOAL, O’Shea downplayed Garnacho’s comparisons to his former team-mate Ronaldo: “Not yet, there’s definitely some spectacular goals which are very similar, [but] Alejandro will have to keep improving.
“Ronaldo used to be able to get away with certain things on the pitch – eventually his team-mates would have been happy with him not running or chasing back because he was producing, he was always getting goals, there were always assists, there was always end product. Until you get to that level of consistency you have to match your work rate around the team as well, it’s not just Garnacho, all the players have to realise that.
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“If you’re not going to track back, you’re not going to put in the hard yards, your team-mates aren’t going to be too happy with you, unless you’re getting goals and assists every game.”
Garnacho stats vs Ronaldo stats at 20-years-old
O’Shea speaks from experience, having come through the youth ranks at United to make 394 first-team appearances, with many of those as Ronaldo’s team-mate.
As a young player who knows what it’s like to share a dressing room with Ronaldo as well as Lionel Messi, Garnacho seems to have plenty of desire to reach that next level to become one of the best in the world. O’Shea has sent a subtle warning to Garnacho on reaching that next level. He needs to put in the hard yards, add consistency, and make more goalscoring contributions.
When Ronaldo turned 20, he has accumulated 23 goals, which by comparison is the same amount as Garnacho after 109 first-team appearances.
It’s not an easy jump to make on the biggest stage in football but there’s a reason Garnacho is seen as one of the best young talents in Europe.
Dealing with criticism is part of the job which is fine once it’s constructive like O’Shea’s comments.
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