The return of James Garner has provided Nottingham Forest with a much-needed transfer boost - and the Manchester United loanee also had a hand in another one.
The 20-year-old is one of four signings made by the Reds so far this summer, agreeing to spend the season at the City Ground after impressing in the second half of last term.
He spent the first half of the 2020/21 campaign at Watford, where he played alongside Philip Zinckernagel, who is now also at the City Ground.
And Forest may partly have Garner to thank for securing the Dane’s services on loan from the Hornets.
“I kind of persuaded him to come here,” he grinned. “We spoke about it.
“I just told him about my experiences last season. I didn’t have a bad word to say about the club, so it was pretty simple!
“When I played with him and trained with him, I could instantly see how good he is.
“We connected on and off the pitch. We’re really good friends.
“He’s definitely a really good player and has made a difference with his assists and goals. I think he’s a really good addition to the team.”
Garner has been the subject of much speculation in the past few months, after proving a big hit in the Garibaldi.
The Reds were always keen to get him back, but faced plenty of tough competition, including from elsewhere in the Championship.
Coming back to the banks of the Trent, though, was always top of his list, according to the midfielder.
“It is tough. You’ve got a lot of people ringing you and messaging you, and you see a lot of stuff on social media,” he told NottinghamshireLive. “But ultimately the decision is down to me.
“People can try to persuade me, but the decision is down to me, and I always had Forest in the back of my head - coming off the back of last season and the progress I made here.
“There’s going to be people wanting me to go to wherever they want me to go to! Likewise, here.
“But I always had Forest in the back of my mind.”
Garner was almost an ever-present in boss Chris Hughton’s first XI after he joined in January.
All but one of his 20 appearances came in the starting line-up, while he chipped in with four goals.
He hopes to improve further this time around, having impressed his parent club enough to earn a new deal - which runs until 2024, with the option of a further year beyond that - prior to sealing his move to the Reds.
“I was in contact with United regularly anyway, week in, week out. But when I went back I got to speak to people face to face,” he said,
“The manager and the staff were all made up with the progress I made - all the on the ball stuff and all the stuff people maybe doubt me with, in terms of whether I’m physically ready. I feel like I’ve definitely proved that.
“There’s no reason why I can’t perform to the levels I did last season, if not better. That’s what I’m hoping for anyway!
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“I’ve just got to keep working hard, keep training and keep working on the things I know I need to work on, then try to implement them into games.
“I think I matured a lot here. That was like my first real season of playing men’s football week in, week out. I developed a lot.
“I almost turned into a man, in a sense, because I was playing against men week in, week out.
“I developed physically. I’m much more mature on and off the pitch. And it helped my overall game, playing a different style of play.
“I think I came on leaps and bounds when I joined in January.”
