Everton fans have been singing the praises of James Garner all season – and the Premier League may have just significantly increased his exposure.
James Garner has just completed his first England camp, after being called up for the games against Uruguay and Japan.
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James Garner makes his England debut vs Uruguay at Wembley Stadium.
Credit: Getty Images/Justin Setterfield
Garner wowed against Uruguay, and then got a 20-minute cameo against Japan days later.
He did his World Cup hopes no harm whatsoever, and the coming months will surely see Thomas Tuchel keep a close eye on him.
It is only now that people are starting to realise how good Garner has been for Everton.
He had been something of a secret up until his England call-up.
But today the Premier League did something that will alert a lot of people to Garner’s qualities.
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James Garner stars in new Premier League analysis video
James Garner playing for Everton.
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Everton fans obviously know full well how good Garner has been this season, having watched him every week.
But there are still some who are oblivious to the qualities he brings.
Potentially though, that may not be the case for much longer.
Earlier today, the Premier League actually decided to make Garner the subject of a new video on their official YouTube channel, which really does emphasise how good he’s been. The video is titled ‘Why Nobody Can Get Past This Midfielder’.
Every so often the league does pick out individual players for their own analysis videos, with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Harry Wilson and Joao Gomes all featuring on the channel recently.
They’ve now done with Garner, and his style of play will now be exposed to nearly 10 million people, which is how many accounts are subscribed to the channel.
In the video, it’s revealed how Garner is currently top of the pile for tackles and interceptions combined (143, Moises Caicedo second with 128).
Presenter James Allcott really sings his praises, describing Garner as ‘one of the best tacklers in the Premier League’, ‘can turn defence into attack in seconds’, and ‘is suddenly getting so many more goals and assists’.
It is then explored whether he is one of the league’s ‘most complete’ midfielders.
Everton should expect transfer interest in Garner
Between this and Tuchel calling him up to his England squad and then calling him a ‘mini Federico Valverde’, it’s probably safe to say that Garner is no longer flying under the radar.
And this presents a potential problem for Everton.
Because all this exposure is surely going to lead to transfer interest from other clubs.
James Garner playing for Everton.
Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Yes, Garner did sign a new deal earlier this year. But contracts don’t always mean that much in football these days, and there’s every chance someone could come in with a huge bid.
That said, if Everton can ensure they play in a European competition next season, perhaps the prospect of Garner leaving would become a non-starter.
Evertonians would like to hope though that, even without that, Garner would be more than happy to stick around.
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