It remains to be seen whether he’ll make his debut against his former club Manchester United tonight but midfielder James Garner is now ready for action at Everton insists Frank Lampard.
The 21-year-old Birkenhead-born player returned to his native Merseyside on transfer deadline day in a deal that could eventually be worth up to £15million after being with the Red Devils since Under-8s level.
With Idrissa Gueye, Amadou Onana and Alex Iwobi, Everton’s current first choice midfield trio and the likes of Abdoulaye Doucoure and Tom Davies also vying for a place, competition in the engine room is now intense but the Blues boss believe his latest recruit is up to speed. Speaking in Friday’s pre-match press conference, Lampard said: “James is ready, he’s completely ready. When he came he was very honest, he wasn’t fit for the Liverpool game in terms of being 100% match-fit.
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“So we had to work him, he went away with the Under-21s and played a game and now he’s completely ready. He’s ready to go, he’s training and I’m excited to see him playing and get him in the team.”
When Garner does make his bow, he’ll become the latest in a long line of players to have represented both Everton and Manchester United (having turned out seven times for their first team) in the Premier League era. Here’s a combined Goodison/Old Trafford XI in a 3-4-3 formation and there are so many options to choose from, the likes of Mark Hughes, Darron Gibson and Morgan Schneiderlin – shock horror – don’t even make the cut!
Goalkeeper: Tim Howard
The USA international played 77 games for United before joining Everton – initially on a season-long loan – and going on to spend a decade at Goodison, making a club record 354 Premier League appearances.
Right-back: John O’Kane
The Nottingham-born defender was part of United’s FA Youth Cup-winning side in 1992 but after just a clutch of first team appearances, Howard Kendall brought him to Everton in 1998 and he was part of the side that stayed up against Coventry City on the final day of the season.
Left-back: Phil Neville
Unlike his older brother Gary who spent his entire career at United, Phil flew the Old Trafford nest in 2005 in search of more regular playing time and went on to show his commitment to Everton with a bone-crunching tackle on former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo at Goodison and later became Blues captain before retiring in 2013.
Centre-back: Michael Keane
Another United youth product, Stockport-born Keane made five first team appearances but was loaned out to Leicester City, Derby County, Blackburn Rovers and Burnley before establishing himself following a permanent switch to the latter and earning a £25million transfer to Everton in 2017.
Right wing: Andrei Kanchelskis
The flying Russian international winger was one of Alex Ferguson’s most-explosive stars before he was sold alongside Paul Ince and Mark Hughes in a 1995 clear-our when he joined FA Cup winners Everton for a then club record £5million and while his 16-goal debut season at Goodison was one of the best individual campaigns for a Blues player in the Premier League era, he was sold on to Fiorentina for £8million after just 18 months.
Central midfield: Tom Cleverley
A home-grown United talent, Cleverley was also loaned out extensively to Leicester City, Watford, Wigan Athletic and Aston Villa but still managed to make 79 appearances for their senior side before he joined Everton on a Bosman-style free transfer and once headed in a dramatic last-gasp winner for the Blues against Newcastle United at St James’ Park before missing an even later penalty for Watford at Goodison on Bonfire Night 2017.
Central midfield: Marouane Fellaini
The first of this side to have played for Everton first, Fellaini was the Blues’ record signing when he joined for £15million from Standard Liege on transfer deadline day in 2008 and spent five years at Goodison – heading in the winning goal against United on the opening day of his final season – before following manager David Moyes to Old Trafford in a £27.5million deal in 2013.
Left wing: Jesper Blomqvist
After spells in Serie A with Milan and Parma, the Swedish international was generally Ryan Giggs’ understudy at United but while he was a great talent in his own right, injuries ensured he didn’t play for over two years – he filled his time presenting a cooking show on the club’s television channel – before he joined Everton on a short-term deal in November 2001, turning out 18 times and scoring once.
Striker: Wayne Rooney
Surely the most-gifted home-grown player Everton have ever produced, the lad from Croxteth was a true force of nature when he terrorised defences as a devastating man-child phenomenon between the ages of 16-18 before his record-breaking move to United where he won every honour in club football and then returned to Goodison for the 2017/18 season with a hat-trick against West Ham which included a goal from inside his own half, a highlight.
Striker: Louis Saha
After a loan spell at Newcastle United and stint with Fulham, Manchester United were the Parisian’s third English club and he netted 42 goals for them in 124 outings before joining Everton on a ‘pay as you play’ deal in 2008 and scoring the fastest goal ever in an FA Cup final in 2009 (25 seconds) against Chelsea although the Londoners fought back to triumph 2-1 with current Blues boss Frank Lampard netting the winner.
Striker: Romelu Lukaku
Initially joining on a season-long loan from Chelsea in 2013, the Belgian international completed a then club record £28million permanent switch the following year and went on to become Everton’s record Premier League scorer with 68 goals before being sold for a club record £75million in 2017.
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