starlet James Garner should be sent out on another loan spell to Nottingham Forest following their promotion to the Premier League, says Paul Parker.
The 21-year-old United academy graduate has enjoyed a successful season out on loan at the City Ground, helping end the club’s 23-year absence from England’s top flight.
Garner played in 49 games for Forest this term, including appearances in all three crunch play-off matches on their run to the final and eventual victory in the Wembley showpiece against Huddersfield Town.
New United boss Erik ten Hag will get a chance to assess his players this summer ahead of .
Former Red Devils defender Parker thinks Garner, who first joined Forest on loan in January 2021 before being loaned back for the next season, should continue his development at Forest under Steve Cooper.
‘I think he [Garner] needs to go on a loan,’ Parker told.
‘Should it be in the Premier League? Yes, it has to be in the Premier League, I think for his own sanity, to be given the opportunity to play in that league.
‘Should it be with Nottingham Forest? I think it should be with Nottingham Forest.
‘I think if Steve Cooper wants to keep him, then he should be relaxed because he knows the club already and he has been there long enough.
‘And if he is gonna integrate into the Premier League, he should be [integrating] with them. People talk about oh he is gonna struggle, Forest is gonna struggle.
‘But that’s the way of finding out about players. Can they dig in? Because it is not gonna be as comfortable as, not that it was that comfortable in the Championship.
‘Or it’s gonna be even more hard because he’s gonna be playing with a different style, with a different team, with a different tempo. It’s gonna be more onus on him because he’s gonna get a little bit more time with the ball, and he’s gonna be closed down by teams, and he’s gonna be more organised, defensively, in midfield than what they were in the Championship.’
‘So, he needs to come out, he doesn’t need to become a squad player and sit around on the benches.’ Parker added.
‘He’s got that impetus now and he doesn’t want that, it doesn’t mean much as people say and going back [to Man Utd] and you’re gonna be in the squad. He knows he is gonna be one of those.
‘I don’t think he wants to be one of them to be perfectly honest. So, after what he has achieved, he has achieved the promotion and one says he’s got a winner’s medal because at the end of the day he was a runner up in the league. The third runner up in the league.’
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