James Garner will see some familiar faces when Everton get back to action on Monday.
Manchester United visit the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time on Monday Night Football, the side who sold the talented midfielder to Everton for just £9m back in September 2022.
It has proven to be a masterstroke from the Toffees as James Garner develops into one of the best players under David Moyes – and on a personal level, the Manchester United academy graduate has found everything he was looking for on Merseyside.
Let’s hear your score predictions for Everton’s game with Manchester United!
Can the Toffees finally halt their winless run at the Hill Dickinson Stadium? 🙏
A custom image showing Everton's recent results against Manchester United.
Photo by Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images
James Garner wanted a leading role at Everton and has earned exactly that
Speaking to The Times in November 2022 shortly after leaving Old Trafford – where he spent 13 years – the man born in Birkenhead revealed that he left his boyhood club in search of a starring role elsewhere.
With 26 Premier League starts out of a possible 26 so far this season and talk of a potential England debut in March as well, Garner has certainly found what he was looking for on Merseyside.
Garner said in 2022: “In the moment it is very disappointing. That was the club that I trained with five times a week for years and years and years, that I made my debut with. But I didn’t want to stagnate. I didn’t want to stay there really and when they said I could leave also, I was in agreement with that.
“I know in myself I wouldn’t have played if I had stayed. I knew it was the perfect time now, at 21, to move on and try and stake my claim somewhere else and hopefully find a home, which I have now in Everton. Where I am at in my career now, I didn’t just want to be an extra body or I didn’t want to just be a spare player in training.
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“I don’t want to be just another player who is there for numbers in training. I want to be a main part of the team whether that is a starter or coming off the bench.”
Manchester United will now have to deal with the monster they helped to create
When Michael Carrick takes his side to the Hill Dickinson Stadium for Monday’s clash, Manchester United will witness first hand just how much Garner has developed.
The Everton No.37 is right up there with the likes of Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson this season.
Opta reveal that Garner is actually outperforming a lot of the most talented players England has to offer, as you can see in the table below.
Player Club Tackles Interceptions Chances Created
James Garner Everton 80 39 34
Elliot Anderson Nott’m Forest 74 30 38
Adam Wharton Crystal Palace 54 22 27
Declan Rice Arsenal 44 25 50
Reece James Chelsea 40 27 21
It is safe to say Garner has realised his target of becoming the main man elsewhere, and Manchester United even explored a deal to bring the 24-year-old back before he signed a new contract in January.
Is James Garner good enough to be playing for England at the World Cup? 🏴
Thomas Tuchel has not called him up to a squad yet…
ames Garner of Everton applauds during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton at Molineux.
Credit: Getty Images/Simon Stacpoole/Offside.
It suggests the Red Devils realise they made a mistake, and their loss has most certainly been Everton’s gain.
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