Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant manager Rene Meulensteen has questioned a Manchester United transfer decision and revealed his doubts over Alejandro Garnacho.
Garnacho attracted criticism for his performance in United’s Premier League defeat to Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night.
Meulensteen admits he has ‘never been sold’ on Garnacho, which perhaps explains why Manchester United considered moving him on during the January transfer window.
Garnacho was heavily linked with a move to Premier League rivals Chelsea but ended up staying at Old Trafford, where he has been since 2022.
At one point Garnacho was one of the most exciting and influential players in the Manchester United dressing room but he has endured a poor season, scoring four goals in the league.
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Garnacho is not the only winger struggling at United – Marcus Rashford and Antony both underwhelmed before securing loan moves to Aston Villa and Real Betis respectively in January.
Given Manchester United’s problems on the flanks, Meulensteen has questioned the decision to sell Antony Elanga to Nottingham Forest.
Elanga showed promise at United – making 55 first-team appearances – but was sold to Forest in the summer of 2023 for £15m.
The Sweden international is thriving at the City Ground, helping Forest climb into the Champions League spots and reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
It was Elanga’s early, counter-attacking goal that gave Forest a narrow win over Manchester United as the Red Devils’ recent revival came to an abrupt halt.
‘I’ve never been sold on Alejandro Garnacho to be fairly honest,’ Meulensteen told Poker Firma. ‘I think there’s a personality and character issue at times.
‘Anthony Elanga on the other hand, his performance last night is exactly what you want to expect from a Manchester United winger – strong, direct, powerful, full of confidence and taking players on.
‘I always thought Elanga showed those glimpses when he was playing for Man United, but the club closed the door on him and his career has restarted at a different club.
‘You really have to question the decision-making process to let players like him go, because there’s been a few who have slipped through the fingers.’
Ex-Premier League star Frank Leboeuf also took aim at Garnacho following Manchester United’s disappointing 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.
‘Man United are 20 points behind Forest so that tells you a lot about the two teams,’ he said on ESPN. ‘Forest were very solid, as they have been all season.
‘It was a really good counter-attacking goal. It was what we expected, United had the ball but were very slow, there was nothing creative at all.
‘I want to talk about Garnacho. He has everything to become a fantastic player but he has to realise he doesn’t play alone.
‘He has so many chances to give the ball to his teammates but he shoots and hits the stands behind the goal, it was awful.
‘It gets on your nerves because he doesn’t think about giving the ball to his teammates. Sometimes you need to be selfish but not every time.
‘I see nothing from Man United right now.’
Old Trafford boss Ruben Amorim felt his team deserved at least a point from their clash against Forest.
‘It is clear we should have taken something, but we have to focus on the goal we conceded,’ he said. ‘Nottingham are really good on the transition and it was a goal from nothing.
‘Suffering the first goal in this way puts the opponent in the position they want to be in, defending with a lot of men and making the transitions.
‘During the game we lacked a bit of quality in the final third which is important when you are trying to win games. We deserved more.’
Manchester United return to action this weekend against local rivals Manchester City, while Champions League-chasing Nottingham Forest visit Aston Villa.
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