NT Boss Dubs Everton Star ‘Underrated’ As He Gets Set To Take Up-close Look | OneFootball

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England manager Thomas Tuchel has emphasised that he wants to see what ‘underrated’ Everton star James Garner is capable of, after handing him a maiden Three Lions call-up.

The Three Lions will host Uruguay and Japan at Wembley next week, with the fixtures offering a final opportunity for Tuchel to fine tune his squad before the World Cup.

Garner, who was part of the England Under-21s side that won the European Under-21 Championship in 2023, will join Toffees team-mate Jordan Pickford after being called up to the senior side for the first time.

Tuchel lavished praise on Garner and called it a ‘pleasure’ to now be able to observe the midfielder at close quarters and see what ‘he is capable of’.

Highlighting Garner’s versatility, physical prowess, and technical ability which has made him Everton’s premier set-piece taker, Tuchel called the Manchester United academy graduate a ‘underrated’ player.

Tuchel said in a press conference (9:20): “James plays an outstanding season with Everton and is maybe a bit of an underrated player.

“I saw him many times live.

“I was always impressed with his work rate, always impressed with his physicality.

“I think it’s a pleasure to play with him.

“He’s a fantastic team-mate.

“He does everything to help the others around him.

“He has huge capacity, he can run a lot.

“He has a high speed, he’s very physical.

“He takes all set pieces, a lot of set pieces for Everton, which tells us that he has clean foot, good strike, clean passing.

“It was a pleasure to invite him.

“I wanted to see him and see what he’s capable of, if he can adapt quickly to the level and if he can adapt to the situation.

“It was an easy phone call because of course he was very happy about it.”

Everton boss David Moyes will be the first person to congratulate Garner, having pressed the national side to keep an eye on his protege earlier this season.

Despite his versatility, and Moyes’ hand being forced to deploy him as a right-back due to Seamus Coleman’s injury, Everton are determined to deploy Garner in midfield going forward, having seen what he can do there.

Moyes is keen on pushing Garner further, with the manager hoping to coach his midfielder into adding more goals to his game.

Garner and Pickford have a crucial clash against Chelsea to take care of first, where a win will take the Toffees within two points of the Blues and strengthen their chances of qualifying for Europe next season, before they can head off for national duties.