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.
