Everton boss Sean Dyche believes James Garner has a lot to offer following his return from injury. But the midfielder is still getting to grips with the demands of the Premier League.
The 22-year-old has only ever featured for 144 minutes in the top-flight of English football. Garner has enjoyed 136 of those minutes since his £15m transfer to Goodison Park back in September under Frank Lampard. But he has a wealth of experience in the Championship.
Everton agreed to sign Garner from Manchester United at the end of the summer window following his role in Nottingham Forest’s promotion. The England U21 international helped the Reds return to the top-flight in the play-offs during his second loan to the City Ground.
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Garner also joined Nottingham Forest on a temporary deal from Manchester United during the latter half of the 2020/21 season. He had spent the first half of that term with Watford before moving to the City Ground. The three loan spells led to 81 regular-season matches.
Nottingham Forest further benefitted from Garner’s presence in their push for promotion. He produced eight assists and four goals through his 41 regular-season outings to reach eight career Championship goals and nine assists. He also started during their three play-off ties.
Lampard played Garner’s step up to the Premier League at Everton with caution before the midfielder suffered a back injury. The Manchester United product made each of his six top-flight appearances for the Toffees as a substitute and has not featured since November 5.
Sean Dyche believes James Garner has a lot to offer following his injury
Everton welcomed Garner back to their matchday squad following his injury when Dyche took the Toffees to Nottingham Forest on March 5. He also made the Blues’ bench against Brentford on Saturday. But Dyche is yet to field Garner since replacing Lampard at Everton.
Dyche knows Garner has a lot to offer Everton following his return from injury, though. He saw what the midfielder is capable of during Nottingham Forest’s push for promotion from the Championship last season. But he now needs to see Garner build his fitness to feature.
“He is a new player to [the Premier League],” he said, via the Liverpool Echo. “From what I saw, and I did see him quite a bit at Forest, he’s got a good engine and running strength. He can strike a very good ball and he is calm in possession, and he will cover the yards.
“Getting to that true sharpness is the next step. But his knowledge of the Premier League is limited just by the fact he has played a lot in the Championship.
“The Premier League is different. But I saw a lot of him at Forest and I think he is a very good player. And I think that now that he is fit again and, hopefully, stays fit, he will continue to sharpen through the training we put on and the day-to-day work that we do.”
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