It’s a World Cup year and England boss Thomas Tuchel has plenty of decisions to make with the wealth of quality at his disposal. He can’t afford to mess it up, the German has one mission, bring the greatest trophy in sport home.
England’s midfield is a pression issue, not because they don’t have enough options, they may just have too many. Elliot Anderson has impressed since coming in, and Declan Rice should be one of the first names one the team sheet.
Beyond those two, Adam Wharton, Jordan Henderson, and even Bournemouth Alex Scott have been given chances by Tuchel. Now, Everton midfielder James Garner should be handed an opportunity to impress.
Everton’s most important player?
Everton have hit a rough patch of form, with just one win from their last five Premier League games, and he 4-2 home defeat to Brentford on Sunday (January 4) will feel like a major punch in the gut for everyone involved at the club.
One of the few players that have remained consistent throughout their poor run, however, is Garner. David Moyes flirted with the idea of playing him as a fullback early in the season, but he has now nailed down one of the two defensive midfield positions.
Dictating play while either Tim Iroegbunam or Idrissa Gana Gueye take on much of the defensive duties as the other member of Everton’s double pivot, Garner has become a real leader for the Merseyside club.
Far and away Everton’s best passer, Garner has completed 795 at a success rate of 87.7% across his 20 Premier League games. He’s also created 24 chances, had 19 successful crosses, and 32 accurate long balls at an accuracy rate of 47.8%.
Interestingly he’s not afraid to take matters into his own hands, or feet, technically, when needed. Garner has completed 14 dribbles, averaging 0.7 per 90 minutes; only attacking stars Jack Grealish, Keirnan Dewsbury-Hall, Iliman Ndiaye, and Tyler Dibling have more, so he progresses the ball really well for a midfielder.
His performance in the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest in their final game of 2025 was a real standout. Garner scored the opener and provided the assist for Theirno Barry to put the game to bed, but that wasn’t all.
Garner’s positioning for his goal was fantastic, although Morgan Gibbs-White, who was marking him, should have kept him on a shorter leash. Still, he found himself with acres of space, allowing him to score beyond John Victor. Refusing to celebrate against the club he spent time at on loan was a little ‘woke’, though.
The assist might have been even better. Garner picked up the ball on the counter, the pass Barry was a little behind him, so it slowed the attack down. Instead of passing sideways or backwards, Garner nutmegged Murillo and played a perfect through ball into Barry, who simply couldn’t miss. It should count as two assists really.
Where would Garner fit in for England?
Tuchel hasn’t deviated much from the 4-2-3-1 formation he’s played since taking the job. So that means Garner would, obviously, play in the midfield two, next to or ahead of Rice and Anderson.
In all honesty, those two look set to be Tuchel’s first choice heading into the tournament, and that’s fair enough, Rice and Anderson have been tremendous this season. Garner, however, could certainly be utilised at the tournament.
England will expect to dominate every game before they (potentially) head into the latter stages, meaning group stage opponents Croatia, Ghana, and Panama will likely be playing in a low block.
Coming on around the 70th minute against some already tired legs, Garner could very well be the answer to help unlock any stubborn defences with his passing ability and willingness to drive forward and pull opponents out of position.
Garner is closer to Anderson than he is to Rice, although the Nottingham Forest man doesn’t make quite as many progressive passes. Their defensive numbers are remarkably similar, but one thing that Anderson has over him is more quality in possession.
Verdict
Heading into the second half of the season, with 18 Premier League games left to play there are only two English midfielders in better form than Garner at the moment, and they’ll both be on the plane.
As a depth option, or a potential replacement should one of Rice or Anderson pick up an injury between now and the World Cup, Garner should undoubtedly be a member of Tuchel’s squad.