Former forward turned pundit Ally McCoist has heaped praise on Everton midfielder James Garner.
After ranking through Manchester United’s youth system, the 24-year-old made his first-team debut back in 2019. However, he struggled to find regular game time at Old Trafford, so he went out on loan on a few occasions to play regularly and develop his career.
The Englishman decided to join the Toffees permanently back in 2022. Initially, he took time to settle down in his new surroundings before establishing himself as a key starter in recent years.
Garner is a midfielder by trait, but has played in the left-back position in a few games this season amid Vitaliy Mykolenko’s injury absence.
Now, speaking on talkSPORT, McCoist has heaped praise on Garner by saying that he is a ‘dream’ option for any manager, as he is an old-fashioned player and is ready to give his best in every position.
McCoist said:
“He’s[Garner] old school, Jeff. Throw him a jersey and he puts it on, he’ll turn around, have a look at the number, and he’ll say that’ll do me, I’m playing there. The weekend summed him up perfectly, [Moyes] played Mykolenko for the balance in his team, who came in and played well.
“But you’ve got to try and sneak a point, what do you do? I’ll put Garner at left-back, where he played the previous week, and you know he did exceptionally well. You are absolutely right, no trouble at all, he’s a manager’s dream.”
Garner receives plaudits
Although Garner has been a key player for Everton, his long-term future isn’t secured at Hill Dickinson Stadium as his existing deal is set to expire at the end of this season.
Therefore, the Merseyside club would be hoping to tie Garner, valued at around £16m by Transfermarkt, down to a fresh term over the coming months to avoid losing him for free next year.
Everton endured a disappointing defeat in the opening Premier League game against Leeds United this season before coming back brilliantly by accumulating seven points from the next three games.
However, they suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to arch-rival Liverpool last weekend, and following that, they have found themselves in mid-table at the moment.
Moyes’ side have earned as many points as both Manchester clubs. Now, they will welcome struggling West Ham United at Hill Dickinson Stadium following the EFL Cup assignment against Wolves.
