Sir Jim Ratcliffe might be confident when he says Manchester United’s academy is slipping, but the club is looking for one of those players they sold for just £9m to return next summer.
After spending more than £200m on new players this summer, the rebuilding job at Man Utd is far from done, but they need to be creative.
Without Champions League football, or at least European football, that sort of outlay will be impossible to justify next summer.
That need for creativity has led them to a former academy star who bet on himself and became a Premier League quality player despite being sold by United for just £9m.
Man Utd exploring James Garner’s return
James Garner is an established Premier League star at Everton today, despite the club having many up-and-down seasons.
He joins the list of players let go by Erik ten Hag, a list that has the likes of Anthony Elanga and Alvaro Fernandez, just to name two high-profile names.
Garner has become a key player for Everton in an all-action midfield role, keeping the play ticking at the back and going forward on the odd occasion to cause havoc.
With his contract expiring in the summer of 2026, United in Focus can exclusively reveal, via transfer insider Graeme Bailey, that the club are exploring the conditions for his return.
Still just 24 with more than 200 Premier League appearances to his name, plus the homegrown quota factor, Garner could help in more ways than one.
Bailey explains: “United are aware of James Garner’s situation, they always keep an eye on academy graduates and he is playing particularly well. I am told he has shown up well during reports within the recruitment department.
“He is enjoying a brilliant season with Everton under David Moyes, and that has seen Garner emerge on the radar of a number of clubs – United included.
“However, it is highly unlikely he ends the campaign as a free agent, with Everton talks progressing.”
Garner on a free transfer would be a massive steal
As mentioned above, not only is Garner Premier League proven and fills an area of desperate need, but his arrival on a free transfer would also be a financial masterstroke.
The streak of United having an academy product in the ranks is also being held single-handedly by Kobbie Mainoo of late, who has one foot out of the exit door.
With Garner, United would tick multiple boxes at once.
A new midfielder arrives, who is Premier League proven, knows the club well, will be itching to rewrite his story at his boyhood club, on a free transfer, and keeps the academy streak alive.
Steals in the transfer market don’t come much better than that. If there’s the slightest chance of him not signing an extension at Everton, United should be all over it.
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