James Garner of Everton during a Premier League match with an inset of a mystery player silhouette.
James Garner of Everton during a Premier League match with an inset of a mystery player silhouette.
Carrington has produced some fine talents over the years with James Garner one that got away.
Manchester United’s academy is fabled in the footballing world, with some club greats being brought through the ranks such as the Class of ’92.
More recent names include Napoli’s midfield maestro Scott McTominay along with Marcus Rashford and even Mason Greenwood is a very talented footballer.
The United academy produced Kobbie Mainoo and there are several players currently making excellent cases for themselves to step up such as Jack Fletcher.
However, there have also been some exciting talents let go by United. Anthony Elanga has been spectacular for Nottingham Forest and Ruben Amorim would have loved a player like James Garner at the club.
READ MORE:Manchester United’s Best Academy Players of All Time
Photo by Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Photo by Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
James Garner praises Marcus Rashford
In a new interview, Garner has named Paul Pogba as the best player he’s trained with. In the same interview, he was posed questions about Rashford.
Speaking on the More Than A Match podcast with former United academy player D’Mani Mellor, Garner explained his views on Rashford.
“I think so personally. I feel like Villa are such a good team where they do have a lot of the ball and create chances where players can go one-on-one, he’s definitely a one-on-one player”, he explained.
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“I feel like a fresh start for him, we know him, he deserves a clean slate a fresh start. When he’s on it, he’s one of the best players in the world.”
Garner would have looked up to Rashford in the academy, as he would have been a few age groups above him when the forward broke through under Louis van Gaal.
Painfully, Rashford’s world-class ability cannot be disputed and he could very well return to that level again outside of the club he spent his life at until January.
READ MORE:Who is Marcus Rashford? Inside the life of Man Utd’s book-writing, government-tackling ace
How Marcus Rashford is doing for Aston Villa on loan from Manchester United
Since joining Villa on loan, Rashford has four assists in nine games but is back to his electric best in terms of running at the opposition defence.
Rashford has developed a strong partnership with Marco Asensio, with both becoming instant key players for Villa with the duo combining for multiple goals.
Rashford was very good for Villa against Club Brugge with captain John McGinn labelling him a ‘real threat’ and adding that seeing the smile on his face is one reason behind improvements.
Per 90 this season in the Champions League for Villa, Rashford is in the 96th percentile for expected assists which demonstrates his strong form.
Villa looks increasingly likely to trigger that £40m option to buy Rashford, and for United it could end up a painful loss, but it is worth remembering he didn’t show his best for two years at Old Trafford.