Everton player James Garner has now stated what position he really wants to play in for the Toffees.
The £15m man has played in multiple roles for Everton since joining the club from Manchester United in the summer of 2022.
Indeed, perhaps a victim of his own versatility, the 22-year-old has featured at right-back and on the right-wing, though insists that playing in central midfield is ‘ultimately’ his preferred role.
Speaking with the Liverpool Echo ahead of tonight’s League Cup tie at Aston Villa, Garner said: “Ultimately, I want to be playing in the middle of the park.
That is my natural position, that is where I have always played. That is the position they signed me for.
But at the moment I am happy playing and if I am going to be playing, whether at right-back, right wing, hopefully midfield, I am not too fussed as long I am playing.
Hopefully I have shown I can do a job in all three, it is just whatever the manager selects.”
James Garner looks set to be an integral cog in the Everton machine
Sean Dyche has generally preferred a midfield trio of Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure since his January appointment, and Everton’s precarious position last season left little room to experiment.
However, Garner’s technical attributes and wide range of passing make him an ideal candidate to play centrally for the Toffees longer-term.
Indeed, the Birkenhead-born star exemplified his quality last weekend during Everton’s 3-1 win at Brentford, setting up Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s strike with 20 minutes remaining.
The 22-year-old’s tenacity allowed him to win possession deep in Brentford’s half and immediately play a defence-splitting pass through to Calvert-Lewin, who coolly wrapped up the game for the Toffees.
Everton have lacked that kind of clinical passing in central midfield for a couple of years and James Garner could be a long-term solution for the Blues.
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