'Turning into a leader' - how Garner is excelling for Everton
· Yahoo Sports
Despite a mixed start to life at Hill Dickinson Stadium, this has the potential to be a successful season for Everton.
Currently sitting eighth and very much in the European mix, many of the early-season headlines were captured by the resurgence of on-loan Jack Grealish and the individual brilliance of Iliman Ndiaye.
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In recent weeks, especially since Grealish's season-ending injury, it has been Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and the goalscoring of Thierno Barry which have come more to the fore.
Throughout, there is the undercurrent of a classically solid David Moyes defence led by James Tarkowski, in front of the perennially outstanding Jordan Pickford.
However, one of the Toffees' most unsung yet consistent performers this season has been midfielder James Garner.
Now in his fourth year at the club, the 24-year-old took time to find his feet after his move from Manchester United in September 2022, having been on loan at Nottingham Forest, missing chunks of both the 2022-23 and 2024-25 campaigns with back problems.
However, alongside Pickford and Tarkowski, Garner is the only Everton player to have started all 29 Premier League games this season.
His ability to win the ball back is a key facet of the way the Toffees impose themselves in the middle of the pitch. Garner ranks in the top three in the Premier League for both tackles (88) and interceptions (46).
It is the combination of this robustness and his playmaking ability that makes him such a key figure in dictating their play.
Only Grealish (six) has more than his five assists for Everton this season, while he also leads the squad in passes ending in the final third (448), big chances created (10) and line-breaking passes into the final third (94).
The Manchester United youth product can also progress play by carrying the ball. Only expansive wide players Grealish and Ndiaye have carried the ball further than Garner for Everton this season, while his 279 pass-ending carries is the most in the squad.
Versatility is a strength in Garner's game, with him playing three of the first four matches this season as a left-back and also filling in at right-back.
His outstanding performances saw him rewarded with a new four-and-a-half-year contract in January to commit him to the club until 2030, with Moyes describing him as a player who has "developed hugely during his time at Everton" and adding that he is "turning into a leader for us".
With both European qualification at club level and a place in England's World Cup squad still to fight for, it could prove to be a special end to what has already been a hugely impressive campaign for Garner.
*All stats provided by Opta