Chris Beesley looks at the rise of James Garner and why it's important for Everton to get him tied down to a new contract
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: David Moyes, Manager of Everton and James Garner of Everton celebrates after winning the Premier League match between Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion at Hill Dickinson Stadium on August 24, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar Via Getty Images)
David Moyes is a big admirer of Everton midfielder James Garner, who is in the last year of his contract
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James Garner’s profile is rising all the time. And, over the next month at least, he could become crucial for Everton.Blues boss David Moyes has been waxing lyrical about Garner all season and championing his cause for a potential England call-up. It was perhaps telling that when Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel was at Old Trafford last month to witness Everton becoming the first team to defeat Manchester United in a Premier League game on home turf after having a man sent off, he not only spoke to his long-time number one Jordan Pickford and Jack Grealish, who have won 81 and 39 caps for their country respectively, but also the uncapped Birkenhead-born player.
If you type in ‘James Garner’ on Google, the late Hollywood actor who starred alongside Steve McQueen in The Great Escape still comes up first. Like other Everton players, Michael Ball, with the West End singer, and Harrison Armstrong, with the Mancunian rapper ‘Aitch,’ Garner shares his name with another celebrity, but for Blues there is no mistaking his increasingly prominent status.
With Idrissa Gueye having been suspended for the previous three matches before Stamford Bridge, Moyes was asked whether it was a difficult call bringing the 36-year-old back for a single fixture before he headed to the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal but he remarked: “It was a tougher decision to take Jimmy Garner off with 10 minutes to go. He was probably as good as any player on the pitch, today, but we knew that he was one booking away and we had to protect him, especially with the boys going away for AFCON.”
Although yellow cards are something of an occupational hazard for players in his position these days, after being cautioned in Everton’s first competitive fixture at Hill Dickinson Stadium against Brighton & Hove Albion on August 24, the 24-year-old has been walking a disciplinary tightrope now since picking up a third booking in as many matches against Tottenham Hotspur on October 26.
With Gueye heading to Morocco though and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hallforced off just 15 minutes into the game with Chelsea, holding the back of his right leg, Garner has become more important as ever.
In order to help his team, the England hopeful has also moved out of the engine room on several occasions this term though, starting the season at left-back in place of Vitalii Mykolenko and also being deployed at right-back at times, including for a match during Gueye’s suspension, when he produced another solid display there to help Everton secure a first-ever Premier League win at Bournemouth.
While he’s always willing to aid his colleagues through his versatility, there has never been any hiding of the fact that he prefers to be in the centre of the park and this was reiterated by him after the game at Stamford Bridge when he said: “Midfield is my preferred position, but I am happy to play anywhere as long as I am playing.”
Although Garner’s presence remains imperative in the coming weeks, ambiguity over longer-term future remains a question mark despite recent claims online that talks have officially opened on improved terms for him.
Asked whether he had considered what comes next after his current deal expires next summer, the Manchester United academy graduate, who was prised from Old Trafford for an initial £9million in 2022, remarked: “I haven’t thought much about it, no. I am just touching in week in, week out.
“You can’t really think too far ahead, so week in, week out, I am just trying to get better as a player and try and help the team as much as I can.”Although he was adamant he wants him to stay, Moyes was also far from concrete on the matter when quizzed in his own post-match press conference at Stamford Bridge and alluded to there being potential suitors for Garner.
The 62-year-old said: “Well look, I wouldn’t be letting him go, so I think the club will do everything they can to make sure that he stays.
“It shows the difference – I don’t know if many clubs were after Everton players in the past, possibly, but they’re now beginning to show a bit of interest in some of the players, which is a good sign.
“Hopefully he signs a new contract when it’s time. But he’s got the end of the season, he’s got an option as well, so obviously we’d be on that if we need to be.”
So far, The Friedkin Group has been decisive and efficient when it’s come to tying down the spine of the squad – Jarrad Branthwaite, James Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford – to new deals to secure their future.
However, there’s a fourth ‘J’ that needs to be added to that list and given his age, adaptability and aptitude he can be just as important.