Amorim speaks out on Garnacho amid uncertainty over Manchester United future
Alejandro Garnacho had his best game under Ruben Amorim as Man United beat Rangers 2-1 in the Europa League.
Ruben Amorim believes Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho can become "so much better" after his influential performance in their 2-1 Europa League victory over Rangers.
United rejected a £40million bid from Napoli for Garnacho last week and Chelsea have stepped up their interest in the winger ahead of the closure of the winter transfer window on February 3.
Garnacho, 20, is not actively seeking to leave United and he was their best player in the heart-stopping win against Rangers, who equalised in the 88th minute only to concede to Bruno Fernandes in the 92nd.
United are open to selling Garnacho as academy player sales represent a pure profit under the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules. Garnacho joined the United academy from Atletico Madrid as a 16-year-old in 2020.
When asked if the Rangers match might have been Garnacho's final appearance for United at Old Trafford, Amorim replied: "No, I’m focused on the games and he’s here, he’s a player for Manchester United. Was really important for us today and let’s see in the next days.
"I think he’s improving in every aspect of the game. He was better today playing inside, also outside, changing positions, he’s improving the recovering position.
"You can see it until 90 minutes he’s always there recovering and helping, sometimes showing some frustration and that is good because he wants more.
"I think he has potential to be so much better in every situation in the game. What I can say is he understood what I was trying to do, was really clear, I just want to help them but in the end it’s them that do the job."
United have not bought or sold anyone so far in the window despite languishing in 13th in the Premier League. They remain unbeaten in the Europa League and have risen to fourth in the table, with one game to play in Bucharest against FCSB next week. If United finish in the top eight they will automatically qualify for the round-of-16, which starts in March.
Clubs have expressed interest in Garnacho, Antony, Marcus Rashford and Tyrell Malacia this month and United have held discussions about the possibility of signing left back Patrick Dorgu from Lecce. Manuel Ugarte is the only United player who previously played under Amorim but the Portuguese insists the players do not belong to other managers.
"It’s not other managers' players, now they are my players," he clarified. "Then you know the situation of the club and before doing anything we have to think what brought us to this moment and to this situation.
"So we have to be really clear on everything. My focus is on the next game, I understand the question but they are my players at the moment."
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