James Garner likely to head out on loan next season which will kickstart his career

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will decide which players will be loaned out ahead of the 2020/21 season commencing. One player likely to be loaned out if 19-year-old James Garner who has been the subject of interest with a few Championship clubs and one in League One. It has been reported by the Daily Mail that Sheffield Wednesday, Swansea City and Cardiff City were credited with an interest and League one club Doncaster Rovers had also made an enquiry.

However, the Manchester Evening News have reported that Cardiff are not interested in signing the player on loan this summer. Swansea will remain in the Championship next season after losing 3-2 on aggregate to Brentford in the Championship playoff with Cardiff seeking to come back from a 2-0 defeat against Fulham last week on Thursday evening. Obviously, Solskjaer will make the final decision on whether the player will be loaned out but I would presume that he would be advised which club his playing time would be increased at.

The player will then make his decision. It is imperative that, providing he is fit, he played regular first team football. Many young players spend a season out on loan and do not play regularly, which is not really aiding in their development. Garner, 19, is rangy holding midfielder with an eye for a pass and more importantly an eye for a goal. He is a player that could learn much in the Championship but also bring much to the league. It will be exciting watching him play first team football next season if he is loaned out.

Garner has a contract with United that expires in the summer of 2022 although there is an option for a further year to be added. However, it is possible that United could secure the player to a new contract before heading out on loan in order to show the player that they want to keep him at the club and this is just for his experience. David Beckham was loaded out before he made it at first team level at the club so there is a benefit of this happening.

This season, Garner has predominantly played U23 football making 12 appearances throughout the season, which was cancelled back in mid-March after the coronavirus pandemic suspended world football. The 19-year-old scored nine goals and two assists. In addition to U23 level football, Garner made six appearances at first team level, playing four times in the UEFA Europa League, and one a piece in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup, making an assist which he was proud of.

Garner is a talent and a season in the Championship could be the inspiration to take him from U23 football at United into the first team. Neil Wood, the U23 manager, has stated that five or six players from his squad could be loaned out next season, which would be good for them all. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News back in May, Wood confirmed:

“There’s quite a few players in that group from the U23s this season that would benefit from going out on loan. It’s something that will be assessed when we return, because a lot of league clubs are on shutdown as well at this moment in time.

“So there’s not much movement, not many talks going on at the moment. But yeah there’s five or six of them that I think are ready to push on – and it depends if the first team want them to be part of their squad, or if it seems better for them to go out on loan.

“It’s something that all the staff will map out, the best for each individual player.”

Written by John Walker

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I support Manchester United, the greatest English football team to have ever existed. Bruno Fernandes is the latest in a long line of players with great ability to play for the club. I idolised Bryan Robson, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Eric Cantona growing up.