Manchester United loanee James Garner continued to enhance his reputation with a brilliant performance in Nottingham Forest’s 5-1 win over Swansea City.
Garner, who came through United’s academy, joined Forest on loan in January 2021 in search of regular first-team football after a difficult spell at Watford.
The midfielder returned to the City Ground for the 2021-22 season and has been one of their standout performers, helping Forest climb up the Championship table.
“I knew him from his England Under-17 days, where he was captain, so we had a relationship before here,” Forest boss Steve Cooper told The Atheltic in March.
“He has been excellent. Over recent months he has been a high-performing player in the team. He has been a constant selection for us.
“The loan is proving to be a really beneficial one. It is important now that he stays at the same level for the run-in. He needs to get to the end of the season and be able to say that he is a better player than he was before he came here. That is always the objective of a loan.
“We are very happy with him. We work very hard with him and he works very hard himself.”
The 21-year-old has taken his game up another level during the run-in and registered five direct goal contributions in April, including two assists in the 5-1 win over Swansea City.
Garner’s corner was headed home by Sm Surridge in the 48th minute, and he then drove forward to set up Surridge’s second goal of the game moments later.
We’ve rounded up a number of tweets from Forest fans that were impressed by his display.
• 2 assists
• 95% pass accuracy
• 8 key passes
• 7 acc. crosses
• 100% long ball accuracy
• 100% dribble success
• 1 shot on target
• 7/8 ground duels won
• 4 tackles
James Garner against Swansea. Incredible. #NFFC | #MUFC pic.twitter.com/dkES1FUIbT
— Callum Castel-Nuovo (@callumcasteln) April 30, 2022
Jimmy Garner is quite honestly the best midfielder I have ever seen in a forest shit and…