Since leaving the City Ground, he has succeeded elsewhere.
With nine Premier League games left, Nottingham Forest is now three points above the relegation zone, indicating that the Reds are in serious jeopardy this season.
The team is already in danger of going down, but on Monday, when the Reds are expected to learn the outcome of the PSR case, they might get even more difficulty.
Since the club’s elevation, Evangelos Marinakis has spent over £200 million, and the acquisitions had a significant role in the team’s violation of Premier League rules.
Players like Taiwo Awoniyi and Morgan Gibbs-White joined Forest for club records at the time, and the Reds broke their own transfer record following promotion.
The club may have blown it despite their lavish spending when they failed to secure a loanee who performed very well during the 2021–2022 campaign for promotion.
Nottingham Forest’s James Garner stats
James Garner, a midfielder on loan from Manchester United, was re-signed by Forest for the 2020–21 season after initially joining the team on loan. Under Steve Cooper, Garner made an impression in the Championship.
Garner made 41 appearances for the Reds in the 2021–2022 season, tallying four goals and dishing out eight assists, including a masterful goal against Blackburn Rovers.
The midfielder was also responsible for setting up Levi Colwill’s own goal in the Championship play-off final, which put an end to the team’s 23-year ban from the top tier of English football.
In the summer of 2022, Forest allegedly expressed interest in turning the young player’s loan into a permanent agreement. However, the Reds were outbid by other suitors, including Lewis O’Brien and Orel Mangala, and instead signed Lewis O’Brien.
Garner ultimately signed a contract with Everton, a Premier League team, for about £9 million, with the option to pay an additional £15 million. The Reds greatly miscalculated by not pressing harder to get the young player back to the City Ground.
Ibrahim Sangare and James Garner’s similarities
With players like Ryan Yates, Danilo, Nicolas Dominguez, and Ibrahim Sangare frequently switching between the two deep-lying roles, current Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo has struggled to establish a stable midfield.
The Ivorian’s influence at the club since his arrival has angered the Forest supporters, who paid the Reds £32 million for him in the summer.
The Englishman would have been a better signing for the Reds than Sangare, especially considering that Garner’s fee was almost four times lower than Sangare’s. This season, Garner will outperform Sangare in a number of crucial areas.
Nuno would benefit more from Garner’s box-to-box playstyle even if the two midfielders are very different kinds; the former Wolves manager regularly uses two players at the base of the Reds midfield.
The former Reds loanee is clearly superior than Sangare when it comes to possession; in fact, the 23-year-old averages more than twice as many shot-creating attempts and progressive carries per game as the Ivorian.
He does, however, surpass the former PSV player when it comes to interceptions per 90, with 1.6 more than Sangare’s 1.1 each contest.
The 26-year-old’s time at the City Ground is still very early, but he hasn’t lived up to the hype thus far. Should the team be relegated this summer, they may lose a lot of money on the midfielder.