Former Red Devil, Ashley Young, recently highlighted Manchester United’s mistake in selling James Garner a few years ago, as the player has grown into a very complete midfielder for Everton in recent seasons.
James Garner was barely utilised at Manchester United, spending his last two years on loan to numerous Championship teams, including a year and a half spell at Nottingham Forest, where he helped them earn promotion to the Premier League.
His performances earned him a move to Everton, where he has been a consistently solid player for over three years. Begging the question of why United let him go.
United got just £15m for Garner back in 2022, and ever since then have been pretty sparse in the holding midfielder position, with players such as Nemanja Matic, Fred, and Scott McTominay all being pretty unsuccessful in that role, leading to their departures.
United now find themselves in a position where they are relying on 33-year-old Casemiro, and out-of-form Manuel Ugarte to do the job, while Garner continues to excel for the Toffees.
Young expresses admiration for Garner
Speaking on Sky Sports ahead of Everton’s clash with Aston Villa, which they went onto win 1-0, Ashley Young talked about the Carrington Academy graduate’s form this season, and how it has affected Man United.
“It was a massive loss for United that they got rid of him. He can set things off from the defensive line and even get into the box and score goals aswell.
“He wants to get on the scoresheet more and more. He’s a fantastic player, and for Everton, he’s been massive this season. He’s one of those players who wants to get on the ball and make things happen.”
Jamie Redknapp also added to Young’s praise of the Everton midfielder. “He’s gone from strength to strength, he’s become a really good player, box to box, assists, tackles he’s just had a really good season and I’m delighted for him.
“He’s got that delivery that not many people possess; he can score goals, I’d like to see him score more goals because he has that capacity in his game. He’s tenacious, he’s done ever so well.”
Could Garner return to Old Trafford?
Garner has recently been linked with a return to his boyhood club, and it is without question that he would fill a hole in the squad, even if he were to simply be a squad player.
He has proven during his time in Merseyside, that he possesses strong adaptability, playing all over the midfield and even right back, and while Casemiro could still potentially be at the club next season, fitting Garner into the team would still be very easy.
There are two main issues around his potential return: firstly, the price. Garner is far from United’s first choice in the summer, so if his price is too high, United will go for someone like Elliot Anderson or Adam Wharton instead, and due to his importance to Everton, they probably won’t let him go for cheap.
The second issue would be if he is happy at Everton and is unsure about just how much game time he will get at United. He barely got a chance to shine the first time around, so he could be reluctant to go back.
One thing for certain is that his defensive ability and his overall range of passing would make him a great asset to the current lacklustre state of United’s defensive midfield options, and if the club decides to let go of Casemiro and Ugarte in the summer, then they will need to buy more than just an Anderson or Wharton.
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