Erik ten Hag made the decision that Manchester United’s James Garner should be sold, according to a new report.
The sale of the 22 year old raised some eyebrows among the United faithful as many thought he would have a chance of breaking into the first team this season after a magnificent campaign for Nottingham Forest in the Championship last term.
But according to The Athletic, “Ten Hag was the key voice in allowing James Garner to leave.
“He judged Garner not at the level to play every week and United decided to bank cash rather than send the midfielder on loan where there was no guarantee his value would rise.”
It seems a little harsh for the manager to have made such a judgement on the player having seen so little of him in action.
An early injury saw Garner miss out on most of United’s pre-season.
This would have been the Birkenhead man’s opportunity to convince the manager that he is ready to take the step up.
In the end, a permanent switch to Everton was agreed for an initial fee of £9 million.
“There is debate over a fee that rises to £15.5m but given United’s past record at sales several sources view the income as fair,” Whitwell says.
Others, however, have questioned why, if the player was to be sold, that a deal wasn’t done with Nottingham Forest or Spurs, who were reportedly ready to pay significantly more than that for him.
There is also a question as to why a buy-back clause was not included in the deal with Everton.
Garner could make his Everton debut this lunchtime in one of the Toffee’s biggest matches of the season, the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
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