Garnacho will prove he’s a world class talent at his next club

ALEJANDRO GARNACHO will be a world class forward, just not at Manchester United.

Garnacho, 20, is rightly labelled as one of the club's brightest talents and was considered as one of three untouchable stars following last year's FA Cup final.

But now the Puskas-award winning attacker looks set to be one of the first casualties of Ruben Amorim's rebuild.

So what happened in the space of half a season to trigger such a drastic change in transfer policy?

After all, Garnacho is the Red Devils' joint-second top scorer this season with eight goals, ranked only behind Amad Diallo on nine and level with club captain Bruno Fernandes.

Former manager Erik ten Hag said of him that if he works hard, "that will bring him to being a world-class player because he has the potential."

Cristiano Ronaldo, Garnacho's idol, played 73 games for Manchester United before turning 20, during which he had managed 10 goals.

In Garnacho's first 73 games, he had 12, suggesting he's shown more promise in these early years than even the great CR7.

However, the winger has been one of the main stars to suffer a dip in form following the appointment of Amorim.

Since the former Sporting Lisbon boss's arrival, Garnacho has scored just two goals and his inconsistency has been clear to see in a role which he just doesn't seem to have a feel for.

This is not to say he can't learn his new position as one of the two No10s supporting the striker that Amorim likes to deploy, but off-field issues have also surrounded Garnacho in Amorim's early days in the job.

Both Garnacho and Marcus Rashford were omitted from the matchday squad for the Manchester derby with the pair implicated in alleged team leaks.

Amorim choosing to address the leaks in public appeared to help end that particular saga for the time being, but Garnacho has still been highlighted over major concerns about his attitude and professionalism.

It was reported that a touchline incident where Garnacho turned his back on Amorim played a part in the decision to axe the youngster.

With these sort of issues in an environment as toxic as Man Utd, it feels like a ticking time-bomb where a huge fallout could be on the horizon.

If that happens, Manchester United run the risk that Garnacho's value would have plummeted compared to what it is now - just like many other young stars who generated big expectations but failed to deliver.

Jadon Sancho, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Memphis Depay and Adnan Januzaj are just some of the names to have played for Man Utd with high hopes early on before failing to deliver.

At the moment Garnacho is undoubtedly the club's most valuable and - most importantly in this context - sellable asset with heavy interest from Napoli and Chelsea.

Just not Chelsea

Out of those two, Manchester United's transfer chiefs should do all they can to ensure a sale to a direct rival in Chelsea does not happen.

Napoli would be the ideal destination from a damage-limitation perspective, particularly if they can get the full £70million valuation out of the deal.

You only have to look at Scott McTominay to see that Garnacho could unlock his full potential there, with the Scot thriving in Italy with six goals in 23 games in all competitions.

That £25m sale, counted as pure profit as part of PSR rules that encourage the sale of academy stars, was a big part in ensuring Man Utd avoided a points penalty and were in a position to splash another £200m on transfers in the summer.

Even before Amorim was appointed it was acknowledged a huge rebuild task was needed for this squad.

But with a completely different tactical style the squad once again needs open-heart surgery with way more than £200m needed to course correct - even assuming every transfer ends up being a hit.

And this time the club cannot afford to botch it up.

Regardless of history, Man Utd are no longer in a position to attract the top names and need to reflect and understand the new food chain of football sees the Red Devils as a has-been.

In an ideal world, Garnacho would be one of the main parts of this new dawn, and he is one of the last names who should be sold from this squad of so-called stars.

Old Trafford icon Paul Scholes listed the winger among just three players Manchester United must keep.

But one simple rule of business comes from supply and demand, and many of the underperforming and overpaid players who should be sold before Garnacho are simply not attracting interest.

Names like Casemiro and Christian Eriksen spring to mind in that sense, while those who are being moved on such as Antony are only leaving on loan and therefore only offering a reduction in wages.

Even former talisman, Rashford, is unable to generate a considerable fee following his declaration of wanting to leave, with any transfer for him this month looking set to be a loan.

Selling a diamond in the rough like Garnacho will only serve to further agitate an already battered and bruised fanbase.

They have endured disgraceful performances on the pitch, scandalous ticket price increases and a general state of stagnation and regression supporting the club since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure.

However, due to Garnacho - like McTominay - counting as pure profit on the books he may need to be the first domino to fall and serve as the catalyst of Amorim's United getting back to the top of England.

And unfortunately, it should be a head over heart resolution where any player is for sale if a deal is good enough and both parties can depart with no hard feelings.