Back in 2023, the Dutchman was effusive in his praise of the young Argentine, making a speech at United's Carrington training ground with Garnacho's proud family watching on as he put pen to paper.
Ten Hag's effusive praise for Garnacho
At that point, there was every reason to think that the player would become a fixture in the United starting XI, and a mainstay at the club for many seasons.
Listen to Flashscore News!
Selected editorial stories, including this article, are also available as audio. Listen and follow on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
However, things started to quickly unravel when Ten Hag was soon relieved of his duties, and Ruben Amorim took over the Old Trafford hot seat.
Along with the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Antony, Garnacho formed part of what became known as United's 'bomb squad.' A group of players who were made to train away from the main group in anticipation of their exits from the club.
"Garnacho is a really talented boy, but sometimes things don't work out. You cannot explain specifically what it is," Amorim was quoted as saying at the time. “But I have the feeling that Garnacho wants a different thing with a different leadership.
“There are players that clearly show that they don't want to be here, and that is normal. It's a simple situation: they want new challenges. At this moment, I'm just working with the players I think are going to stay, and the other guys are trying to find a solution for their careers.”
Moves to Chelsea and Villa have proven Amorim right
Given Amorim's own struggles at the Red Devils, the Portuguese was roundly criticised for his treatment of Garnacho et al, but subsequent moves to Chelsea and now Aston Villa appear to have proved him right.
Whilst at the Blues, he scored just one Premier League goal and provided four assists in 24 appearances, albeit his total cumulative minutes across the 2025/26 season in that competition were just 1,268, which is equivalent to 14 full matches.
Four goals in four League Cup games was a better return, but the fact is Garnacho managed only eight goals in all competitions last season, which is clearly not good enough.
His pass completion reads well, given that during his time in West London it fluctuated between 83.09% and 91.34%; however, he only played 789 total passes across the season, with just 60 being forward passes and a very poor 16 being played into the final third, which is arguably where the player should've been doing the most damage.
Garnacho appears to have a huge chip on his shoulder
Things are even more misleading from his short time at Villa. Although the pass completion stat rises to 93.75%, that's from making just 15 completed passes from 16 attempted, and not one of them was a forward pass.
If the player could be seen to be working hard for the cause, then certain things can be temporarily overlooked for the simple fact that they can be worked on and improved.
However, much like Sancho, Garnacho has often appeared to have a huge chip on his shoulder with an attitude that smacks of entitlement.
For example, since the start of the 25/26 campaign, he's made only 78 ball recoveries, and won only 114 of 226 one-on-one duels, losing 112 of them.
Aerially, which, in fairness, has never really been his forte, is embarrassing, with only eight duels won from 31 attempted.
Poor crossing accuracy
The real kicker comes when one takes into account his lack of crossing accuracy.
If nothing else, a winger needs to get to the byline and deliver an accurate ball into the box for attacking colleagues to get on the end of.
After leaving United, Garnacho has managed to do that on just 11 occasions, from 85 attempts, and that easily encompasses why he isn't getting games at present.
Even Unai Emery has recently bemoaned that the player needs to try harder to win his place in the team.
"Continue working. Work, work, train, work," he said when asked about Garnacho's absence. "When he can have minutes to play, try to play well. He is progressing, but we have players in front of him now."
Just a month into his Villa career, the question marks are already there, with the 22-year-old seemingly now hurtling towards yet another career crossroads.
Though Amorim's attitude towards the 'bomb squad' did appear extreme at the time, there'll be plenty of people forced to eat their words now.
Sancho is still without a club, Rashford is hardly setting Old Trafford alight despite being given chances by Michael Carrick, and Garnacho might now be looking at having to move on yet again to try and resurrect a career that once promised so much but is now fading badly.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high-profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
