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Alvaro Fernandez has stated in another recent interview that Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag, did not count on him for the season and that is why he is consequently on loan at Granada.
Despite only featuring for seven minutes off the bench versus Real Madrid last night, the young Spaniard has followed up a great loan spell at Preston with a admirable performances for struggling Granada and the Spanish under-21 team.
The Peoples Person also reported this week that the young defender told COPE radio station that in spite of playing further forward on occasion this season, he knows his true position is left back. The youngster also talked at length about his long journey from Galicia to Madrid and eventually to Manchester at only 17 years old.
Speaking to The Athletic however, the young United defender has gone into more details on some points that will surely interest Red Devils fans. The Galician asserted that Ten Hag did not count on him at the start of the season and this is the reason for his late in the window move to the south of Spain.
The defender claimed, “what message did United give me? That I should go out on loan, that Ten Hag didn’t count on me, that I should continue to gain experience, rhythm, and we’ll see what happens in the future”. The United youngster also talked about how the deal “in the end, it was done at the last minute”.
Nonetheless, it must also be said that the young fullback also stated that “my main objective is to return to United and make a place for myself there.”
Interestingly, the man from Ferrol went into detail about his move to Old Trafford. “At that time, we were in lockdown (as the Covid-19 pandemic continued). We had a video call with the Manchester United bosses, the scouts who are here in Spain, and they were translating for me, because I had no idea of English. What I saw was that I wanted to take the next step, and I wasn’t going to do it in Madrid.”
The youngster claimed that despite the initial language barrier, he was able to fit in well at Old Trafford. “Manchester is completely different (to Real Madrid). You lived with the professionals — you’d go down for breakfast and you’d bump into Rashford”. The player also claimed that being surrounded by Spanish speakers such as Juan Mata and Edinson Cavani also helped him settle at the club.
The Spanish under 21 international also commented on his luck in hitting form right away when he came arrived to Old Trafford and spoke about his pride in winning the reserve team player of the year award in May 2022.
The attacking fullback also spoke about how he chose to go to Preston on loan as he wanted to adapt more to English football and focus on improving his defending. He said of the choice to move to Deepdale, “I was lucky enough to be in Madrid’s youth academy and (there) it was ‘attack, attack and attack’. Since I arrived in England, I have focused more defensively because it was my point to improve.”
The youngster also beamed about his time at Preston. He claims to have loved every minute where he got what he wanted, competing regularly against adult men. He also praised the close connection the players had in the dressing room. He explained, “I loved it, I left very happy. On top of that I had a team, a close-knit family. We had an incredible dressing room.”
The Spaniard finished by coyly commenting that even though breaking into the Manchester United senior team is his main objective, he has no idea where he might end up. Fernandez discussed about how he has two years left on his contract at United and he does not know what the future will hold for himself and his career.
“My objective is Manchester, of course, but it’s such a crazy game that maybe next year I’ll be in Germany or Italy or Spain. You never know.”
What is for sure, The Peoples Person and United fans will continue to keep a keen eye on his progress in the south of Spain this season.
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