Ruben Amorim can't ignore Manchester United dressing room reaction to Alejandro Garnacho

Alejandro Garnacho is once again becoming Manchester United's game-changing X factor. A player who made his name as an impact sub and then started 39 games in a row is now often back amongst the replacements and ready to change a game. It's something he has to do more often than Ruben Amorim would like.

Garnacho is only 20 but has already made 123 appearances for United, but his club career has been through different eras. From those early days as an impact player to threatening to break into the elite level in the second half of last season and early weeks of this campaign, to January and a window where his days at Old Trafford almost ended.

The Argentine only signed for United when he was 16, but he is still considered an academy graduate. His dazzling displays in the FA Youth Cup triumph of 2021/22 forged a strong relationship with supporters. That bond has remained, with Garnacho one of the standout performers last season in a dismal campaign.

Scoring in the FA Cup final win against Manchester City strengthened that feeling, and with eight goals already this term, he is on for his best season, which was last season's 10. But he has struggled to fit into Amorim's 3-4-2-1 system and is back to producing his best from the bench.

He came on at half-time against FCSB in Romania recently and injected some pace into United's attack. On Friday, he was called on to perform a similar role against Leicester City and helped turn the FA Cup fourth-round tie around. It was telling to listen to Harry Maguire reveal that the rest of the squad had clearly expected the attributes that he would bring.

"He is ready, he is focused and we knew at half-time that he would probably add a little bit more directness and pace into the team.