Manchester United to promote James Garner to first team next season?

Manchester United will reportedly give consideration to using James Garner in the first-team squad next season.

While the academy graduate has already made seven appearances for United, his development has been spent away from Old Trafford since September 2020.

During that time, the 20-year-old has made 64 appearances in the Championship with Watford and Nottingham Forest, while he also made an impression for the latter on Sunday as they thrashed Leicester City in the FA Cup.

According to the Manchester Evening News, there are those close to Garner who feel that he is on the brink of earning a promotion to United's senior squad.

The England Under-21 international has a contract until 2024 and could be regarded as a natural replacement for one of several United midfielders who could move elsewhere at the end of the campaign.

Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard all feature on that list of potential departures.