James Garner credits his transition into Everton’s defence as a huge confidence booster.
Speaking to Everton’s official website, the 22-year-old admitted that it initially felt ‘weird’ playing at right-back, however it eventually really helped him and he went onto adopt the same position as England U-21s won the Euros this summer.
The Toffees signed Garner from Manchester United last year but he didn’t to quite live up to expectations at first, failing to make his debut until October before suffering a lengthy injury a month later.
The midfielder only returned to the first team in April, but Sean Dyche was clearly fond of him and decided to hand him an opportunity to impress from right-back after Seamus Coleman’s season ended in his own injury.
Garner earned rave reviews for his performances in the backline and he continued in the same position for England U-21s as he was named in the Team of the Tournament shortly after lifting the Euros trophy.
Speaking to the club, Garner said: “It was a crazy summer and achievement [with England].
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“It was weird playing right-back for every single game, but you know those last couple of games of the season for Everton really helped me and gave me the confidence to go into the summer and play how we played.”
Where will James Garner play with Everton next season?
After a brilliant end to the season and an even better summer for James Garner, there is no doubt that he will play a huge role under Sean Dyche However, it remains to be seen where he will play.
The 22-year-old could potentially return to the midfield following Tom Davies’ exit, while Amadou Onana may also leave the club this summer.
While Garner would probably prefer to move further up the pitch, he may also be forced to continue in the right-back position in the opening weeks of the new season with Seamus Coleman still recovering from injury.