Former Crystal Palace midfielder Darren Ambrose believes that Manchester United already have an alternative to Frenkie de Jong, as uncertainty grows over the transfer. The Red Devils have agreed a fee with Barcelona for De Jong, but have so far failed to get the deal over the line despite lengthy negotiations.
Erik ten Hag’s club may be prepared to wait during talks for the Dutch playmaker as a youngster at the club could take up that role in midfield. James Garner was on loan at Nottingham Forest during their promotion season to the Premier League, but the England under-21 international may remain at Old Trafford for the coming season.
“I’m 50-50 whether he [De Jong] will end up a Manchester United player or not,” Ambrose told talkSPORT. “So James Garner, I think he could make the step up, I certainly do. You look at when a manager comes into a football club, one of the first things they want to do is prove they can improve players. He [Ten Hag] can certainly do that, he’s done that at Ajax.
“I think he will be looking at a player like James Garner and thinking, ‘I can prove that I can build a player into, not just a normal squad, but into a Manchester United squad that’s trying to build and get back up there’.
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“Of course I want to be a Manchester United player,” Garner told MUTV. “I think, even if you do not play for United. I feel it is most people’s dream. That is obviously my aim this season and I have got to have a good pre-season and hopefully that happens.
“The future? Probably the exact same answer: to be a Manchester United player. Ever since I was a little boy, I have grown as a player and a man, I feel like my whole life has been in Manchester.
“It was huge [loan at Forest]. You learn a lot out on loan. You learn about yourself. I have learnt that I felt I can compete at a high level, that is what I think I have learnt the most.”
