Erik ten Hag has been sent a message by former Manchester United coach Warren Joyce, who has tipped loan star James Garner for Premier League success.
The midfielder has been exceptional for Nottingham Forest this season after joining on loan from United last summer, and his influence may help earn them promotion to the Premier League. Forest have qualified for the play-offs, and could see them back in the top flight for the first time since 1999.
Joyce, now a coach at Forest, has sent Ten Hag a clear message in a glowing assessment of the youngster. And with United needing midfielders, who could be exactly what they need.
"He’s done great, you’re delighted for the kid, he came in and was maybe not up to speed, but he’s got better and better. It’s a credit to the culture the manager instils in the football club," Joyce told the Manchester Evening News.
"I think it’s helped him to see what Brennan Johnson, Joe Worrall, Ryan Yates do, how they conduct themselves. He’s bought into the culture the manager instills and the way they conduct themselves. There’s a vibrant group of young players there who are destined for the Premier League."
Although Garner is playing his best football right now, it was a rocky start for the young midfielder. But Boyce thinks that the manner in which he has bounced back and adjusted proves just how cut out he is for the Premier League.
"You need some struggle to get better and to know what it feels like, to find out about yourself," he said. "He’ll know himself how much the manager has helped him here and how much he’s had to find the answers within himself to come through and play as well as he’s done and be involved in the type of football the first team have been playing here. It’s been really exciting to watch and it bodes well for his future."
It was former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that sanctioned the loan, and it appears to be a masterstroke from the Norwegian. Solskjaer even called Garner 'the next Michael Carrick' as he saw his talents in midfield from a young age, and sent him to Forest for valuable experience.
"He has a great future. He's in the same mould as Michael Carrick. It puts pressure on him to be compared to Carrick, but that is what it’s like to be at Man United."
Towards the end of the summer transfer window, Solskjaer revealed: "Jimmy will go on loan. That's more or less done. He's done really well in pre-season and he's really impressed me, and I think for his career, another season, or another six months now to start with, playing regularly in the Championship will help him."
Forest boss Steve Cooper has been delighted with Garner and credits him for where the position they find themselves in.
"He has been excellent," Cooper said. "Over recent months he has been a high-performing player in the team. He has been a constant selection for us. The loan is proving to be a really beneficial one. It is important now that he stays at the same level for the run-in.
