James Garner is on the brink of making his first Everton appearance under Sean Dyche.
The midfielder was part of the matchday squad for the games with Nottingham Forest and Brentford but was an unused substitute on both occasions. His involvement, however, marked his return to the first team picture after a serious back issue left him out of action for almost three months.
Dyche is a fan of Garner, who he watched consistently during his loan spell at Nottingham Forest last season. Following his exit from Burnley, Dyche, who lives nearby, regularly visited the City Ground to see Forest’s rise out of the Championship.
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Garner’s talent was prized highly behind the scenes at Finch Farm under Frank Lampard, who signed him from Manchester United in the summer. His deadline day arrival meant he missed the opening five games of the Premier League season and his search for match fitness as a result, followed by the injury he suffered after starting the Carabao Cup tie at Bournemouth, has stunted his development at Everton.
After concluding his recovery by earning minutes with Everton’s Under-21s - watched by Dyche - the 22-year-old now looks set to play a role in his club’s survival fight.
Whether Garner’s quest for the match ‘sharpness’ Dyche demands will lead to him being involved at Chelsea on Saturday, the final match before a 16 day break for the Blues, remains to be seen. But he is firmly in the plans of his boss.
Asked what role Garner could play for him, Dyche said: “He’s still learning about the Premier League. I think he has maybe eight appearances in the Premier League so he still has a lot to learn.
"He is a new player to it. From what I saw, and I did see him quite a bit at Forest, he’s got a good engine and running strength, he can strike a very good ball and he is calm in possession and he will cover the yards.
"Getting to that true sharpness is the next step but his knowledge of the Premier League is limited just by the fact he has played a lot in the Championship. The Premier League is different.
"But I saw a lot of him at Forest and I think he is a very good player and I think that now that he is fit again and hopefully stays fit he will continue to sharpen through the training we put on and the day-to-day work that we do.”
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