Former Manchester United trainee James Garner has reflecting on his time at the club.
Now a Premier League regular for Everton, with a little more luck James Garner could have had a more substantial run with Manchester United.
Garner added his name to the growing list of United graduates to make his debut for the club in 2019, number 226, when he was just 17.
The midfielder only managed to make seven first team appearances, spending time on loan at Watford and Nottingham Forest before his eventual exit in 2023.
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Garner names best player he trained alongside
James Garner was handed his Manchester United debut under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, although trained with the first team when Jose Mourinho was still at the club. Erik ten Hag was managed when he was eventually sold.
That meant that despite the loan moves, he still got the chance to train alongside superstars at Carrington.
During an interview on the More Than A Match podcast, Garner was asked about the best ever player he trained alongside. And while he crossed paths with Cristiano Ronaldo during his second stint at the club, another player made a bigger impression on Garner.
Garner picked out Paul Pogba as the player who he rated as the best, commenting: “Best player… I was lucky enough to train with Ronaldo before I left United, but in terms just what I’d seen him do every day in training, Pogba.
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“He’s a joke 6ft 3”, he shouldn’t have been able to move like he could move.
“Left foot right foot, technically one of the best if not the best, could run with the ball, could defend, could take set pieces.”
James Garner on Paul Pogba
James Garner went on to describe how Paul Pogba as a person left just as big an impression on him as his football skills.
He appreciates the way Pogba treated him as an unproven academy player.
Garner explained: “He was such a nice guy, for me 16, 17 years of age, he just treated me like I was one of them.
“There was times where we was both living in Manchester, I’d see him at Trafford Centre or something like that, he wouldn’t just ignore me, at that time the biggest superstar in the world, and he’s normal.”
Pogba is a free agent looking for a club once more after his ban expired in early March, with Bruno Fernandes recently offering him words of encouragement.