Nottingham Forest journalist Sarah Clapson has been sharing her thoughts on the possibility of the Midlands club attempting to sign on-loan Manchester United midfielder James Garner on a permanent deal.
This comes after Clapson made an appearance on a recent episode of Forest podcast Garibaldi Red where she spoke about a variety of topics concerning Chris Hughton’s side.
During the podcast, Clapson was asked about the chances of Forest attempting to sign Garner on a permanent deal from the Premier League club this summer. In response, Clapson had this to say on the matter (19:00):
She said: “I know Manchester United do think very highly of Chris Hughton and the job that he’s done with James Garner, but whether that’s going to have a big enough say, it’s certainly unsure.
“I think that there’s going to be other clubs competing for him I don’t think you could argue with that, and he’s going to have the final say I guess on where he wants to go.
“If there’s a lower-end Premier League club that thinks that he could do a job for them, then I think Forest will struggle to get him back if there’s somebody in the Premier League that wants him, or if Manchester United think that he could be in and around the squad and have his chance.
“Again, there’s talk of clubs abroad and perhaps him going elsewhere, maybe he wants a different type of experience.
“Forest are going to have their work cut out, absolutely. They’ve got to try, they’ve got to do the best to get him. The Hughton link is going to be the key, but whether it’s going to be enough I think is going to be tricky.”
Forest signed Garner back in the previous January transfer window from United’s U23 squad. Since then, the 20-year-old, who is currently valued at £3.6 million, has made 20 appearances for Forest in which he has managed to score four goals in the process (per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts on Sarah Clapson’s comments on Garner…
Given how Garner ended the season as Forest’s highest-rated player with an overall season rating of 6.98/10 for his performances in the Championship, shows just how well he fit in at the club since joining in January.
This also shows just why the question of a possible deal for Garner to remain at Forest for next season arose during the podcast.
Would you like to see Garner at Forest next season?
Yes
No
In our view, Forest should explore the possibility of signing Garner this summer, whether it’s on another loan deal or a permanent one. However, we feel that Garner should make a decision based on where he would get the most minutes on the pitch to help his development.
In other news: ‘Going to have a big say’ – Darren Fletcher drops positive transfer claim at Nottingham Forest