Alejandro Garnacho saga puts five clubs on red alert but Rashford issue emerges

Alejandro Garnacho's uncertain future at Manchester United has put five clubs on red alert ahead of the January transfer window.

Garnacho was dropped from the United squad which beat Manchester City on Sunday, with boss Ruben Amorim insisting the decision was not due to any discipline problems. It had been a positive season for Garnacho until that point.

He has scored eight goals and notched four assists in all competitions this term. But while he was a certain starter under Erik ten Hag, that has not been the case under the Dutchman's replacement Amorim.

His decreased game-time under the new manager has led to suggestions the Argentine could be on his way out of Old Trafford. With United needing to raise funds to bring in players for Amorim, Garnacho could well find himself at risk of being sold.

According to the Daily Mail, while he had been seen as an 'untouchable', some of Europe's top clubs have the sense that he could be available at the right price. The situation is less to do with Amorim and more to do with market forces placing United under pressure.

The easiest way for them to generate revenue would be to sell homegrown academy graduates. That has made Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo the prize assets at United.

While there has been much speculation on Rashford's future, his lucrative contract makes a deal difficult. Garnacho though is yet to move into the high-earner bracket and would likely command a much higher fee than Rashford.

United expect such a fee to be in the region of £70million, though there is no indication that the club would be prepared to sell him. Intermediaries are said to believe the door to a Garnacho deal may be ajar though.

That has alerted the likes of Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan on red alert, with Real Madrid and Barcelona also floated as potential destinations. Amorim has been at pains to insist that Garnacho's dropping was not due to discipline reasons.

“It was not a disciplinary thing - next week, next game, new life. They are fighting for the places but for me it’s important for me the performance in training, the performance in game, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with the team-mates, the way you push your team-mates," he said.

"Everything is important in our context in the beginning of changing a lot of things, when people in our club are losing their jobs, we have to put the standards really high. For that, they have to fight for the place in the team.

"Today the team proved that we can leave anyone outside the squad. You can manage to win if we play together. We have to choose and then we see how many players we have in our squad, in this position and in the substitutions."