Alejandro Garnacho can expect a hostile reception this weekend when he returns to Manchester United for the first time since leaving for Chelsea.

Garnacho is the first member of Ruben Amorim's 'bomb squad' to return to Old Trafford, less than three weeks after his acrimonious exit. The winger, along with fellow outcasts Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrrell Malacia, was exiled by Amorim after asking to leave.

For Amroim and United's hierarchy, Garnacho's talent and potential was outweighed by his ego and petulance, so they decided to cut their losses and cash in on the 21-year-old.

On Saturday, Garnacho will be Public Enemy No.1 when he walks out of the tunnel at the Theatre of Dreams, a stadium where he was once lauded but where he is now seen as a traitor.

Such was his standing among the loyal match-going United fans, they even adapted one of their most famous stadium chants – 'Viva Ronaldo' – a homage to Cristiano Ronaldo, replacing his name with that of Garnacho.

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But after Garnacho's messy departure from United, when he threw his toys out of the pram and Amorim under the bus after being benched for last season's Europa League final defeat to Tottenham, he is now reviled, rather than revered.

Whether Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca can succeed where Amorim failed and unlock Garnacho's hue potential, as well as instilling in him some discipline and humility, only time will tell, but United are not losing any sleep over allowing him to join a Premier League rival.

Garnacho's demise at United began shortly after Amorim took charge, when he was axed from the squad for the Manchester derby last December, along with Rashford, after his boss felt he had failed to listen to instructions when coming on in a Europa League game four days earlier.

Although Garnacho was then handed a reprieve, unlike Rashford, and won back his place in the United line-up, his card was marked with Amorim, with those who work closely with the squad on a daily basis claiming the Argentina international was never able to regain the trust of his manager.

Garnacho's inflammatory public outburst about his omission from the Europa League final starting line-up was the final straw for Amorim, who left him out of the squad for United's final game of last season, a 2-0 home win over Aston Villa.

That was the first major step in offloading a player deemed too troublesome and high maintenance to work with going forward. Concrete evidence of that came over the summer, when Garnacho posted on social media a picture of himself wearing a Villa shirt with Rashford's name and No.9 on the back.

It was considered a provocative gesture and a dig at both Amorim and United, rather than a genuine show of solidarity to Rashford, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Villa.

Both Garnacho and Rashford were at odds with United and the former's actions served only to strengthen the view within the club that he had to go, irrespective of his talent and potential.

United fans generally do not like seeing talented academy players leave before they have had a chance to fulfil their potential, given the club's rich history is built on giving youth a chance, going back to the Busby Babes.

But talent alone is not enough to succeed at United, as Garnacho found out. You need discipline, a strong work ethic and a mentality that puts the team above your own interests, qualities he failed to grasp or show in his five years at United.

That is why there will be no love lost between him and 70,000 United fand when he walks out at Old Trafford on Saturday evening.

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