Garnacho joined Chelsea from Manchester United towards the end of the transfer window. The fixture list has thrown up a swift reunion with his former club, for whom he scored 26 goals in 144 appearances.

The Argentinean looked bright off the bench in his first two outings in blue, and Maresca believes he could feature from the off later today.

‘In the last two games, he came on and was very good in the second half against Brentford and Bayern Munich,’ said the head coach.

‘We are happy with the way he has adapted to our style and what we want from our wingers. Now is he ready to start? I think he is ready to start.’

Maresca explained that he will take into account the narrative surrounding Garnacho for this fixture when he selects his team. He acknowledges extra motivation could prove useful.

‘It’s something you have to think about. He’s young so you don’t know how he’ll react. In case we decide to start with him, we’ll have a chat with him to see how he feels about that.

‘It can work both ways. We had a similar case with Jadon [Sancho] last year who for different reasons struggled, then he joined us for one season and was good. He helped us achieve our target. Jadon had a good season with us, and hopefully Ale Garnacho can have the same.’

However, there is one aspect of Garnacho’s game Maresca remains keen to work on - the defensive side. The head coach noted the 21-year-old could have done better for Brentford’s late equaliser while recognising it is part of his adaptation process.

‘When we conceded the second goal against Brentford, two or three minutes before we had conceded exactly the same throw-in, exactly the same chance, and the player behind Garnacho was alone again. It happened two times, not only once.

‘It’s why we say many times players need time to adapt. It’s a process when a player joins a new club, they need to understand how we work.’

That process will continue in earnest at Old Trafford today on what is bound to be a special occasion for Garnacho.