Sir Jim Ratcliffe responds to Real Madrid interest in Alejandro Garnacho as Man Utd stance confirmed

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has responded to speculation linking Alejandro Garnacho away from Manchester United with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Ratcliffe had his 25% acquisition of United confirmed earlier this year, with the British billionaire now having authority over the Glazers when making key footballing decisions.

The INEOS owner has inherited a football club in a rather precarious position, with United's sudden fall from grace following the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.

The club has seemed to be on a constant yoyo of success ever since, with every time they appear to turn a corner they slip back into a period of dire straits.

One of the few positives for United this season has been the emergence of young talent such as Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho from the club's youth sides.

Mainoo having gone from making his first Premier League start in November to making his England debut in March.

Garnacho has also featured regularly in Argentina squads since his breakthrough into the United team and has now pretty much nailed down a place in the starting XI ahead of Antony.

The 19-year-old Argentine has five goals and three assists in the Premier League this season and has also bagged in the Champions League. Given his impressive full debut season, Garnacho has been attracting interest from Real Madrid.

One of the most notable things about Garnacho is his apparent obsession with Cristiano Ronaldo. Garnacho celebrated his first goal for United with Ronaldo using one of the Portugal captain's signature celebrations and also performed the iconic 'SIU' following his bicycle kick against Everton.

With this in mind, as well as the fact Garnacho has dual nationality with Spain, I would imagine the prospect of following in his idol's footsteps from Old Trafford to the Bernabeu would be something Garnacho is open to.

Garnacho for Argentina- Getty

Despite these rumours it is understood that Ratcliffe has made his stance on Garnacho's future very clear and would like to mold the future of United around the teenager.

According to reports from talkSPORT, Ratcliffe has firmly communicated that Garnacho, who won't even turn 20 until July, is one player he is unwilling to part with as he begins his attempt to bring United back to the top of the Premier League.