Manchester United loaned out some important first-team players during the January transfer window. The most notable departure of the lot was Marcus Rashford, who joined Aston Villa with an option to make the move permanent for £40m at the end of the season.
Tyrell Malacia was the most recent player to leave the club, with the Dutchman joining PSV Eindhoven on loan, also with an option to buy the player permanently. The Red Devils also loaned out Antony to Spain, with the Brazilian winger joining La Liga side Real Betis.
With the outgoings on loan in attacking areas, a lot of responsibility will fall on the remaining attackers at Old Trafford, with Alejandro Garnacho, someone who will have a big role to play for Ruben Amorim in the second half of the season.
Garnacho’s season in 2024/25
It has been a strange campaign so far for 20-year-old attacker Garnacho. He started the campaign quickly under Erik ten Hag but hit a dip in form around the time the Dutchman’s tenure came to an end.
Under Amorim, the Argentine winger has struggled to lock down a place in the starting lineup, but hard work has seen him become a regular starter in recent weeks. In total, Garnacho has eight goals and six assists in 36 games this season.
Perhaps his biggest goal this term came in the Community Shield against Manchester City. The youngster came off the bench to fire United ahead, although their cross-city rivals ended up equalising and then winning on penalties.
Garnacho’s impressive performances over the season have seen his value rise up. According to CIES Football Observatory, the 20-year-old is valued at as high as £80m, a testament to his hard work despite tough spells at times this season.
Incredibly, there is a United player valued higher than their number 17, who has not quite hit the same heights as Garnacho this term.
The United player worth more than Garnacho
The player in question here is Red Devils striker Rasmus Hojlund. Despite a higher value than Garnacho, the Dane has been really disappointing this season and has struggled for form throughout the campaign.
In 2024/25, the Denmark international has scored just seven goals and has one assist in 30 appearances.
Worryingly for United, just two of those goals have come in the Premier League, against Brentford in a 2-1 win and a defeat against Nottingham Forest.
The Dane’s form is certainly strange, given how well he has played in Europe. Not only has he managed to score five goals in eight games in the Europa League last season, but he was dominant in the Champions League in 2023/24. Hojlund bagged five goals in just six group games, including two away to former club FC Copenhagen.
But, the stats from his work in the Premier League this season are damming. The United number nine has got really disappointing numbers, as per FBref, which show how poorly he has played. For example, Hojlund averages just 1.05 shots per game.
|
Hojlund key stats 2024/25 PL season |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat (per 90) |
Number |
|
Goals |
0.16 |
|
Shots |
1.05 |
|
Shots on target |
0.49 |
|
Expected goals |
0.19xG |
|
Shot-creating actions |
1.7 |
|
Goal-creating actions |
0.08 |
|
Stats from FBref |
|
In terms of his value, he is surprisingly worth far more than Garnacho. The Denmark international is valued at £92m, according to CIES, a £20m increase to the original fee they paid for him two summers ago from Atalanta.
The big question is, will INEOS, and Amorim, sell the attacker? Well, according to talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook, they might. At the end of January, Crook claimed that Italian clubs Napoli and Juventus are interested in a potential move in the summer.
It is certainly a surprise that the United striker is valued higher than Garnacho. Although the winger has struggled at times this season, he has been electric in recent weeks and at the start of the campaign.
For Hojlund, it is a different story, and he will be hoping to turn a corner quickly to put this poor form behind him once and for all. It would not be a surprise if INEOS and Amorim did cash in on him, however, amid the need for a proven talent to lead the line moving forward.
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