'Mini Valverde' wanted by Chelsea - Garner is now Everton's main man

Crunching tackles that help win hard-fought away points in an all-action performance are the kind of things Everton fans have become well accustomed to when watching James Garner. Now the rest of the Premier League are starting to take proper notice. Following Everton 's goalless draw at Tottenham on Saturday, during which midfielder Garner bested a home line-up boasting the near-£200m midfield pairing of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, Match of the Day pundit Thomas Frank hailed Garner's display. It featured crucial challenges on Tonali and Fernandes to halt promising home attacks - by a player who missed a significant part of pre-season after hernia surgery. "Garner today was extremely good," said Frank. "He is aware; he's talking; he's organising. "In a high-press situation, he does the recovery, and that's just so exceptional and so important when you are playing against a team who are dominating you. "He was running so hard, so that's one side of his game, but also so important is his touches. He is a lot on the ball. It's through him that a lot of things are happening." Fellow pundit and former Everton defender Ashley Williams said: "He's really impressive. If you're a centre-back behind him, he's the type of midfielder you want." The 'boy' who became a leader Garner was signed for an initial fee of only £9m from Manchester United in 2022, having spent the previous season on loan helping Nottingham Forest get promoted to the Premier League. The academy graduate did not make a Premier League start for United. After taking two seasons to settle at Everton under Frank Lampard and then Sean Dyche amid a backdrop of financial problems and points deductions, the 2025-26 campaign proved to be a watershed moment. Garner played all but six minutes of Everton 's Premier League campaign to spearhead a European push that lasted for much of the season. In December Everton travelled to Forest with a depleted squad and won 2-0 to move within four points of the top four. Garner scored Everton 's opening goal in a commanding display that underlined his development. Following that win, manager David Moyes said: "When I came in, I still saw a bit of a boy and I think I now see someone who's turning into a really good leader as well, beginning to take a bit more responsibility and grow up and begin to start to act like a real midfield player." The data backs up Garner's growing maturity. He ranked top for a host of metrics for Everton last season, in terms of creativity and physicality, making the most successful passes, tackles and interceptions, but also providing the most assists and engineering the most chances. Perhaps most impressively, he stepped up in the absence of key winger Jack Grealish - four of Garner's seven assists came after Grealish's season was ended by injury in January. "He's been fantastic since I came in," said Moyes. "I didn't realise probably how good he was. He's been so good." England's 'mini Valverde' Garner's consistent displays last season earned him a first England cap in a friendly against Uruguay in March. He produced a man-of-the-match performance, topping the game for tackles and chances created. After the match England manager Thomas Tuchel compared him with Uruguay and Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde. "He's our mini Valverde," said Tuchel. "He played very, very good. I was quite sure that he will play good because he has this natural confidence and he's just very physical. He won a lot of balls." Garner missed out on a place in England's World Cup squad, but those physical attributes could result in more caps in the near future. He covered the most ground of any Premier League player last season - and 6km more than England midfielder Elliot Anderson - while also topping the overall rankings for tackles and interceptions. Garner signed a new Everton deal in January, keeping him at the club until 2030, but that did not stop a £65m bid from Chelsea on deadline day this summer, which was rejected by Everton - an important decision given that Garner's versatility is likely to be crucial to a threadbare squad this season. Everton can currently call on only 17 fit senior outfield players, with Christian Norgaard and Merlin Rohl sidelined because of injury, meaning gaps may have to be plugged throughout the campaign. Garner has played at right-back and left-back for Everton in addition to his usual central midfield role. He also played at right-back when Engla