Nottingham Forest manager Chris Hughton is "absolutely delighted" with James Garner following his arrival from Manchester United on loan in January.
The 19-year-old signed for Forest until the end of the season at the start of the year and has been a revelation for the Championship club.
Garner was at Watford for the first half of the campaign, where he played 12 games, but was recalled after a managerial change at Vicarage Road limited his chances and sent to Forest.
The teenage midfielder has established himself as a first-team regular for Forest with some strong performances and scored his first senior goal against Wayne Rooney's Derby last Friday.
Speaking to Football League World, Hughton expressed his happiness with what he's seen from the United loanee so far.
Hughton said: “We’ve been absolutely delighted with him. He’s grown in experience, he’s learning all the time. His game isn’t perfect, but it wouldn’t be at his age.
“He’s on the right road to being a very good player, that’s my thoughts on him at the moment. We are very respectful of how we speak about him as he’s not our player, but more so, we are very grateful to Manchester United for his services.”
Hughton was asked if United's decision to recall Garner surprised him and went onto praise Watford for their part in his development.
“Surprised isn’t the word. The game is all about what a team wants and what a manager wants," the Forest boss said.
“I certainly don’t think it would be anything detrimental, because he played games for them. This is not a lad who went there and played only a few times, he had a good amount of starts and was involved.
“What I would like to think is that they (Watford) have added to his experience. If I’m looking at the experience he will have had come the end of the season, then I think Watford have very much played their part.”
