Alejandro Garnacho's Manchester United journey is already mirroring Cristiano Ronaldo

Alejandro Garnacho has gone from strength to strength in 2023 for Manchester United and has already demonstrated his ability to bounce back from adversity with his goal against Leeds just four days after he was heavily criticised for his performance against the same opposition.

This character has earned him a spot back in the Argentina squad, after missing out on the 26-man squad that conquered Qatar. Becoming a regular international could be exactly the type of experience Garnacho needs to break into the Manchester United starting lineup more regularly, and with each week the youngster is starting to mirror the early career of former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ever since the Argentine performed the iconic ‘SIU’ celebration in the FA Youth Cup last year the comparisons between the two players emerged, but what started as a gimmick may turn into a more legitimate correlation.

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Whilst Ronaldo has since developed into a more out-and-out forward as his career progressed, he arrived in Manchester aged 18 as a modestly-built winger full of tricks, similar to the profile of Garnacho who is the same age as Ronaldo when he broke into the Manchester United side.

Of course, Garnacho is far from being regarded as a genuine heir to Ronaldo’s thrown at Manchester United, with just two Premier League goals this season he clearly has a long way to go. But Garnacho is currently matching the statistics of Ronaldo’s first season in Manchester with both averaging just over 0.1 goals a game and 0.1 assists per game in the Premier League.

Ronaldo’s goal involvements skyrocketed in seasons to come, and it’s yet to be seen whether Garnacho has the capabilities to flourish in