Despite their current injury crisis, Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saw his side pick up an impressive 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.
The victory keeps them just a point behind fourth-placed Arsenal, as the Norwegian tactician continues to lead them on a resurgent run since being appointed interim boss in December.
SEE MORE: Man Utd hand trial to WONDERKID, teenage winger flies in after impressing scouts
Part of that success has been down to showing faith in the young players at his disposal, and Solskjaer went one further in midweek by handing James Garner his first-team debut in the final few minutes at Selhurst Park.
The 17-year-old is highly-rated at Old Trafford, and with the current injury situation in mind, it could offer him an opportunity to prove he has a bright future at Man Utd by impressing in cameo appearances to help fill the voids.
“We’ve been waiting for that chance [to introduce him to the first team],”Solskjaer told MUTV after the game. “Of course, now with Nemanja [Matic] and Ander [Herrera] injured, there’ll be more chances for Jimmy.
”We might even see him on Saturday against Southampton again.
“I believe he has got the chance to have a great future. Of course, he has to keep working.”
That will undoubtedly be a major confidence boost for the youngster to know that he could feature again so soon, and so time will tell whether or not he gets a chance to make his mark, this time in front of a home crowd at Old Trafford.
Particularly with Matic and Herrera out injured, that doesn’t leave Solskjaer with a great deal of depth in midfield and so he has partly been forced into looking at Garner to offer help.
Nevertheless, based on his comments above along with a comparison to Michael Carrick in his post-match comments, it’s clear that Garner could have a promising career ahead of him at Man Utd if he continues to impress and his opportunity to do so has arguably come earlier than anyone expected.
