One That Got Away: Man Utd Surely Regret Letting James Garner Leave

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Man Utd surely regret letting their own 'mini Valverde' depart Old Trafford.

Manchester United spent the summer rebuilding their midfield for Michael Carrick, following the departure of Casemiro and the injury to Manuel Ugarte.

The Brazilian general had been a regular at Old Trafford since joining from Real Madrid in 2022, spending four years at the club and becoming a cult hero with his performances in the centre of midfield. But when his contract expired this past summer, everyone agreed that it was the right decision for him to move on.

With Kobbie Mainoo established as a first-choice option under Carrick , the club spent £155m to bring in Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans, and Carlos Baleba alongside him, building the club's strongest midfield in the best part of a decade.

But the season so far has been majorly disappointing for Carrick and his squad, with the team managing just two wins in all competitions so far this season, including just one of their first five Premier League games.

The midfield hasn't been a major area of fault, with the defence a bigger issue, having conceded two or more goals in four of their seven games. But Man Utd will be looking across the pitch at ways that the team could have been improved, and realising that they have made some major mistakes.

In recent years, the club have allowed a host of top academy talent to depart, and there are major question marks as to why, with those players going on to shine elsewhere.

Scott McTominay has become a top midfield star at Napoli in Serie A , leading them to an Italian title in his first season, while left-back Alvaro Carreras left Old Trafford and became first-choice at Real Madrid within 18 months.

Now, the club have been rocked by news that academy sensation JJ Gabriel is pushing to move on , while young forward Shea Lacey is trying to break into Carrick's side. But there is one academy star in particular who should be a part of United's squad right now, but is instead shining for England and Everton in the Premier League.

James Garner looked to be on the verge of breaking into the Man Utd squad back in 2020, and then spent three seasons out on loan with Watford and Nottingham Forest in the Championship.

Establishing himself as one of the best young midfielders in the country, United then decided to let Garner leave permanently for Everton in 2022 in a deal worth up to £15m, including add-ons. Since then, he has made 132 appearances for the Toffees, and established himself as a top Premier League midfielder, who also plays for England.

Thomas Tuchel has been impressed by the 25-year-old, dubbing him a 'mini Valverde' , after the Real Madrid superstar.

> "I'm very happy [with Garner] -- he's our mini Valverde.

> "He's getting there, and he played very, very good. I was quite sure that he will play good because he has this natural confidence and he's just very physical. He won a lot of balls."

While United's midfield options are strong, there's no doubting that having Garner in the squad would make them stronger. As things stand, he's definitely a better option than Andrey Santos, who has great potential but limited experience at the top level, while he provides different solutions to Tielemans, Baleba, and Mainoo.

Coming through the academy, he would also know what it means to play for the club and understand the demands placed upon players by the media and fans.

United would be better off with Garner in their ranks still. The £15m means nothing to them in the long-run, and they will surely be regretting allowing him to move on when they did.

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