An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in James Garner in the summer transfer window…
What’s the talk?
According to The Sun, the Magpies are one of a number of Premier League teams eyeing up the England youth international.
The report claims that Tottenham, Leeds, Southampton and Aston Villa are also competing to land his signature before next month’s headline.
It is stated that Manchester United are prepared to cash in on him but no teams are willing to pay the £14m asking price at this moment in time.
Eddie Howe’s own David Beckham
The Magpies manager could secure his own version of the Manchester United legend by swooping in to sign Garner before the end of the window.
TotalFootballAnalysis claimed that he is becoming a set-piece specialist with his ability to create opportunities from dead ball situations.
In the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Nottingham Forest, he created a whopping nine goals outside of open play – with eight of those coming from corners – and this led to his teammate Ryan Yates calling him one of the best in the Championship at that part of the game.
Trevor Sinclair, meanwhile, compared his set-piece quality to that of a certain former England international, saying:
“James Garner’s deliveries remind me of David Beckham’s. He’s got that dip and that whip and it causes so many problems. The pace on the ball, he’s putting it on a sixpence every time.”
The ex-Real Madrid man assisted 80 goals throughout his time in the Premier League and found the back of the net 18 times from free-kicks, with Toon legend Alan Shearer once naming him as the best dead ball taker in the history of the league.
Newcastle could now find their own set-piece wiz from the Old Trafford academy set-up by signing Garner to create chance after chance with his ability from those positions.
The midfielder, who has been dubbed “simply phenomenal” in 2022 by talent scout Jacek Kulig, also has more facets to his game and this is backed up by his statistics in the Championship for Forest last term.
He averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.26 and made 3.2 tackles and interceptions per game, whilst winning 53% of his duels. The midfielder topped the charts for Nottingham Forest when it came to ratings and made more tackles and interceptions than every player other than Joe Worrall and Ryan Yates.
This suggests that the 21-year-old does not shy away from his defensive responsibilities and is capable of putting in strong performances on a consistent basis, along with having Beckham-esque set-pieces.
Howe must now take a punt on the youngster at £14m to see if he is able to make the step up to the Premier League to be Newcastle’s own specialist in the middle of the park.
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