Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has likened Manchester United youngster James Garner to Michael Carrick after the 17-year-old made his debut against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.
United ran out 3-1 winners at Selhurst Park thanks to Romelu Lukaku’s brace and an Ashley Young strike, while Garner was introduced as a 90th minute substitute.
Who is James Garner? Five key things to know…
- Garner broke through at Under-18 level for United last season, making 24 appearances and scoring four goals in the 2017-18 season.
- His cameo appearance against Crystal Palace was his senior career debut.
- He can play at centre-back or in central midfield.
- The teenager is captain of the England Under-18s team.
- Having signed his first professional contract last year, Garner is seen as a future first-teamer by Solskjaer.
After the victory over Palace, Solskjaer revealed he has been waiting for the chance to give Garner his debut and hinted he could play again when United take on Southampton this weekend.
“I believe he’s got the chance to have a great future,” Solskjaer said, according to the Manchester Evening News.
“He knows we believe in him, we’ve got great faith in him as the next Michael Carrick. I know he’s young and I know it’s not fair on kids to compare to great players like Michael was, but he’s the same mould, he plays simple passes, plays through the lines.
“You’re at Man United, so Michael had the pressure of coming in after Roy Keane, that’s just the way it is at Man United.
“We’ve been waiting for that chance. With Nemanja [Matic] and Ander [Herrera] injured there’ll be more chances for Jimmy, we might even see him against Southampton on Saturday.”
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Solskjaer admits he wasn’t looking forward to Palace game
After a run of mixed results against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Liverpool in three different competitions, the Red Devils have picked up a number of harmful injuries.
But the win at Palace was United’s eighth successive victory on the road, something Solskjaer believes is down to good players and preparation.
“Explain it by good players,” Solskjaer said. “Having good players and preparing well for the games.
“Tactically I have to say the team were so focused, there was no complacency whatsoever. This is the game I’ve always, not dreaded, but knew was going to be difficult after PSG, Chelsea, Liverpool, after all the mental energy that goes into those games.
“A game we’re expected to win, the focus was fantastic during the meetings we’ve had and some great finishing by Rom.
“You go into every game as a Man United coach with these players you’ve got with a chance to win every game and the next one away is against PSG, so let’s see if we can continue.”
The post Solskjaer thinks he’s found Man Utd’s ‘next Carrick’ appeared first on Squawka News.
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