James Garner has opened up on why he felt compelled to leave Manchester United after becoming a mainstay in the Nottingham Forest first team that won promotion to the Premier League.
The 21-year-old spent a season and a half on loan with the Reds, during which time he impressed in midfield. He made 61 appearances and played a key role in the team's incredible run to the play-off final before returning to his parent club.
Garner was heavily linked with a permanent move to Forest this past summer, but United waited until late in the transfer window to put the player up for sale. By that point, Steve Cooper had already drafted in several new midfielders.
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United ended up selling Garner, a Merseysider by birth, to Everton for a reported £9million. After spending his formative years with the Red Devils, he was disappointed to leave but felt he had to move on after becoming "one of the main players" at Forest.
"In the moment it is very disappointing," he told The Times. "That was the club that I trained with five times a week for years and years and years, that I made my debut with.
"But I didn't want to stagnate. I didn't want to stay there really and when they said I could leave also, I was in agreement with that. I just think it all made sense. I had two good seasons on loan and returned to United in the summer.
"I know in myself I wouldn't have played if I had stayed. I knew it was the perfect time now, at 21, to move on and try and stake my claim somewhere else and hopefully find a home, which I have now in Everton.
"Where I am at in my career now, I didn't just want to be an extra body or I didn't want to just be a spare player in training. Last season, I was one of the main players in Forest's team and that is what I want to be.
"I don't want to be just another player who is there for numbers in training. I want to be a main part of the team whether that is a starter or coming off the bench."
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