Garner is one of those youth team players I have been most excited about for the last couple of years. Potentially I see him as a Scholes/Carrick hybrid. Because he has superb technique and shooting ability, but I think his best position is as a deep lying playmaker. I think it’s going to take a minute for him to develop fully, as midfield is possibly the hardest position to play, but I think he has all the potential to be a first team squad player for years to come, and potentially a first team starter.
It’s so hard to judge with how players develop. Those years from 19 to 23 can contain some real ups and downs. The players who explode on to the scene and just get better and better are the exception, not the rule. You have those 18/19 year olds who look like they have the world at their feet, and amount to not much, and those who look solid at best, but end up brilliant.
I’d take a long term view with Garner and say he’ll make it, and make it big, but I am fair from certain. We have some serious talent coming through and it is exciting. Mejbri, Amad, Shoretire, Galbraith, Alvarez, Pellestri, Mengi, Hugill, Garner....and there are others. A lot of quality players in our academy.
Greenwood is probably the bench mark for me, in terms of what to expect from a young player. He’s as talented a player as I’ve ever seen in our youth system. Right up there with the best of them. His first season was absolutely sensational. But you can see how easy it is to struggle at that age. The talent hasn’t gone, it’s about resilience and adaptation. Weathering a poor form in an unforgiving league, and being able to adapt your game to be unpredictable. We see it with all young players, and Greenwood is so good, that I have as little doubt as is possible, that he’ll be a big player for us. But it shows the need to always act with caution.