Man Utd Academy superstar leads Garnacho, but Eth sells him for £1.5m

Manchester United’s academy is providing a bunch of talents to the first team and helping them achieve all kinds of success.

The current damage situation allows people like Ayden Heaven and Chido Obi to show off their abilities and declare their claims about regular roles under Ruben Amorim.

After moving to Old Trafford in the summer, both youngsters played on the team in the draw against the front side and could play a big role in the future.

They will hope to follow in the footsteps of Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and David Beckham, among others, who are part of the 92 graduates, allowing the club to endure their success in the Premier League.

Another player in the current first team has risen through the Carrington Academy System, making it a crucial member of the 11 players in recent years.

Statistics by Alejandro Garnacho

Wenger Alejandro Garnacho moved to Manchester United for £5m from Atlético Madrid in October 2020, initially contacting the academy side – helping them win the FA Youth Cup on 2021/22.

Since then, the Argentinian jumped to the first team and registered 129 appearances over the past four years to become a key member under Erik Ten Hag and new manager Amorim.

The 20-year-old has scored 23 goals and 16 assists since his debut, but has had to adapt his play style into Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system, forcing him to play a more important role than his preferred broad role.

He hasn’t found the back of the net in 2025, but it’s also a topic of interest for his fellow British compatriot Chelsea in January, with the Red Devils demanding a fee in the £55 million region.

Despite his endurance of huge expenses and huge upticks, another academy star was ahead of him in Old Trafford’s pecking order, but former boss Ten Hanger decided to uninstall him while he was at the club.

The former Manchester United star, who led the way in Garnacho, left for £1.5m

It is undeniable that Garnacho has been a star for the past few years, usually a player who bought merchandise during a bleak period at Manchester United on and off the court.

But if he had continued his trajectory among the young men at Old Trafford, his place in the first team would have been handed over to Tahith Chong.

The winger joined Feyenoord since the age of 16, and entered the academy, using the same route as Garnacho, competing at the youngster level and then jumping to the senior team.

He scored 67 times in all youth levels and scored 28 times, a record that promoted him to the first team in 2018 and ran 16 times in 18 months.

Chong is part of one side, making a miraculous comeback to PSG in the Champions League in 2018/19 – undoubtedly one of the highlights of his Manchester era.

The attacker, dubbed a “superstar” talent by journalist Rich Fay, will join the latter in 2022 for £1.5m, enduring three separate loan spells on Werder Bremen, Club Brugge and Birmingham City.

His career hasn’t taken off since, moving to Luton Town in the summer of 2023, linked to Hatters’ first Super League campaign – scoring four times in his 33 games.

However, he suffered injuries in the sport, with only twice in 2025, and the 25-year-old was below what he expected after the appearance of Old Trafford.

Unfortunately, he was unable to move on after leaving forever a few years ago, another Dutch player suffered a setback.

Of course, he could have been a player, and everything beats everything the way he wants to do in Garnacho’s leading first team, but in the end, Chong still has time to revive the career he once promoted.