Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has leapt to the defence of Alejandro Garnacho, revealing he tried to sign the winger during his ill-fated spell at Bayer Leverkusen.Garnacho made his transition from United’s academy into the first-team under Ten Hag with the Dutchman handing him his debut. Their time together peaked in the 2024 FA Cup final 2-1 win over Manchester City with Garnacho scoring the opening goal.Ten Hag was sacked as United boss in October 2024, before returning to management with Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025. However, he lasted only two Bundesliga matches before he was dismissed – a Bundesliga record.The 56-year-old’s fortunes since that FA Cup final win mirror that of Garnacho who was sold to Chelsea for £40million in August 2025. He only lasted a season at the Blues after underwhelming before joining Aston Villa on loan, where he is down the pecking order of manager Unai Emery.But speaking about Garnacho, Ten Hag labelled him as an ‘amazing player’ who can do ‘incredible things’, but warned to get the best out of him he has to remain disciplined.’I regret where he is now. I told him, “Come to Leverkusen”. But luckily he didn’t. He wanted to stay in England. I understand, the best league, so he denied,’ he told The Athletic of an attempt to sign the Argentine in the summer of 2025 before he joined Chelsea. Erik ten Hag (right) has spoken highly about Alejandro Garnacho after their time at Man United Now at Aston Villa on loan from Chelsea, the winger has struggled for first-team minutes so far’He’s a character, you have to manage him, but I had a strong connection with him.’But it’s also up to him, of course, but he needs a coach, a particular coach, who will give him trust, who will give him love. He needs the love, definitely. But he’s an amazing player. What’s so special about him is he can run all day, high volume at really high speed, all game, back and forward.’Sometimes his head is not on defending. So mentally, his mindset, you have to make sure he is focused and disciplined and does the job every transition, but he’s capable of doing it and attacking-wise he can go forward and do incredible things, making dribbles, finishing. He can do the final pass, but sometimes he’s a little bit selfish but you balance this.’Since joining Aston Villa on loan, Garnacho has only made four substitute appearances for a total of 42 minutes.His last appearance under Emery came in the 6-0 win over Fenerbahce in the Europa League on October 15 – where he came on with 11 minutes remaining.Despite that cameo, the 22-year-old was omitted from their matchday squad for Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Newcastle United. He hasn’t played in the Premier League since his substitute appearance in a 0-0 draw at Hull City on September 5.Ten Hag’s thoughts on his former United player comes after he revealed his frustration at the club’s hierarchy’s decision to sell Scott McTominay to Napoli for £25m in the summer of 2024 against his wishes.’They promised me loyalty, they promised me backing, they promised communication, that we get aligned. We spoke about the issues. But the promises, they didn’t keep.’ Keeping McTominay at Old Trafford was one of those promises, according to Ten Hag.The Scot was sold to Napoli for £25million in the summer of 2024 and has since gone on to become one of the top midfielders in Italy, becoming a fan favourite at the Serie A club after steering them to the title in his first season.He even earned a Ballon d’Or nomination and was compared to Argentina icon Diego Maradona by adoring Napoli fans.On McTominay, Ten Hag said: ‘That’s why I got disappointed. In Ibiza, we agreed. I said, “No selling Scott McTominay”. We would go aligned in the transfer window. ‘I make an argument, a reason: we don’t have scoring abilities. Scott brings scoring abilities and great mentality. He has United in all his veins. So when they bring up the subject, “No”. And in the end they sold him. I got, of course, very embarrassed and disappointed.’McTominay’s transfer to Napoli was used by United’s chiefs to raise funds for £42m midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who has struggled to impress since his arrival.The Uruguayan, who is currently out injured with an anterior cruciate ligament tear he suffered at the World Cup, was mostly used as a squad player under Ruben Amorim and Michael Carrick last season.