Leeds United have to pay major fee to land Manchester United midfielder James Garner
Leeds United look like missing out on James Garner as the young midfielder is headed back to Nottingham Forest on loan, according to Football Transfers.
Phil Hay in The Athletic had reported on 31 May that the club had interest in midfield options regardless of Kalvin Phillips staying at the club, including Garner who they made enquiries about during 2022.
But it appears that the Manchester United want to keep hold of him for the future but are willing to send him back to newly-promoted Forest.
The new manager at Old Trafford Erik ten Hag wants to have a look at the 21-year-old and is likely to take him on the pre-season tour.
According to the report, the player himself is in favour of a return to the club where he achieved promotion to the top flight on loan, and it would be difficult for another side to hijack these plans with a permanent move.
It says: “It would take a great deal of cash for Man Utd to sell to a solid Premier League club, such as Leeds and Everton.”
Move on
It was always going to be a difficult target to move for, and it would be more sensible to concentrate on players who are more well disposed to making a switch to Elland Road.
This one looks like it needs to be filed under impossible for potential suitors, outside of the unlikely event that a club offers the Manchester side an amount they can’t refuse.
It is unlikely that the Whites could afford to do that currently anyway, and especially when they have various priorities to address at once.
If a huge fee comes in for Phillips the scenario could change, although fans and the club would surely prefer to just keep hold of the Yorkshire Pirlo.
They are believed to be interested in bringing Marc Roca from Bayern Munich to strengthen in the middle of the park, and likely do need further additions whether their star man moves or not.
But the plan for Garner looks fairly set, and the interest from Elland Road seems likely to go unfulfilled.
In other Leeds United news, a suitable bid has yet to be made for a target who is drawing “intense interest” that the Whites are thought to be at the head of.