Alejandro Garnacho has a bit of history with Manchester City.
Last season, he scored the opening goal as Manchester United stunned their local rivals in the FA Cup final – later posing with the trophy along with his youthful team-mates Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Hojlund.
Just over two months later he was back on target at Wembley when he scored in the Community Shield against this weekend’s Manchester derby opponents – the first of eight goals in his first 20 games of the season.
But then things took a downturn.
Garnacho did not face City on 15 December after being dropped along with fellow forward Marcus Rashford.
Head coach Ruben Amorim spoke about it being a selection issue following an evaluation of “training performance, game performance, engagement with team-mates”.
“I pay attention to everything,” he said. “The way you eat, the way you put your clothes to go to a game.”
Unlike Rashford, who returned to the squad just once and did not play again before joining Aston Villa on loan in February, Garnacho was recalled immediately.
Sources said the issue came down to an interpretation of his reaction to receiving instruction as he waited to come on in a Europa League game
Amorim believed Garnacho wasn’t listening. Garnacho felt he was, while watching the game unfold.
New in the job, Amorim felt he had to lay down a marker. Garnacho’s speedy return – and continued presence – confirms the matter has been dealt with and forgotten.
But his performance levels have dipped. In 21 appearances since the City game, Garnacho has scored one goal and created four.
And after another frustrating performance against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday – during which he had six unsuccessful shots and was shown a yellow card for kicking the ball away in anger – his future became the focus of fan discussion.
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