Micah Richards has heaped praise on James Garner, suggesting that he really likes the Everton youngster after the Toffees managed to stay in the Premier League.
Richards was speaking on The Monday Night Club after Sean Dyche’s side secured the win which ensured that they avoided relegation on the final day of the campaign.
Of course, the relief needs to quickly switch to determination. Everton have battled relegation for two years. And it is not going to be easy to move forward given the financial constraints the club have to deal with.
Micah Richards praises Everton youngster James Garner
Some of the areas Everton must strengthen in are fairly clear to see. But there are some very talented players in the ranks. And Richards believes that one of those with a lot of potential is James Garner.
“They need a striker ASAP. Calvert-Lewin when he came back, did such a good job. But I think when you talk about styles of play – yes, Everton fans might want a nicer brand of football – but if you look through that team, they’re winners, they want to work hard. And they fight. And that’s how they got the result against Bournemouth,” he told The Monday Night Club.
“Garner’s a flair player, even though he had to do a job on the wing. But he’s a tidy player. I really like him.”
Garner will be someone who will be desperate to kick on next season. He arrived off the back of a fantastic loan spell last year, helping Nottingham Forest secure promotion out of the Championship.
As reported by Sky Sports, Everton paid £15 million to bring him to Goodison Park. But his first year on Merseyside was disrupted by injury.
Garner enjoyed a run in the side from the start of April. He featured in all of Everton’s last 10 league games as they battled for survival. And he did come close to scoring his first Everton goal against Bournemouth on the final day.
He is still only 22 years of age. So while there is definitely a lot of work ahead for Everton, Garner is one of the players to really look out for next year.