‘I used to love Nemanja Vidic’: James Garner on his football inspirations and finally getting an England call-up

James Garner is listing the players he admired when he was growing up. They are a fairly typical group for a player of his age: Steven Gerrard , Frank Lampard , Paul Scholes , a trio who won almost 300 England caps and who scored over 700 goals between them. So far, so conventional for a central midfielder in the England squad. But there is a surprise confession. Where others idolised the all-action midfielders or the defining flair player of his generation, Garner’s hero was more of a defensive warrior. “Growing up I was always a centre-back,” he said. “I’d be lying if I said [Lionel] Messi. As mad as it sounds - because obviously I came through at Manchester United - I used to love Nemanja Vidic. I used to love the No 15 and things like that. I’ve never actually said that: I used to love Vidic.” A boy from Birkenhead, Garner has gone to endear himself at Everton with his versatility. He says his role now is often as a “single six’, a lone defensive midfielder, but he has also operated in a pair or as more of a No 8. He has played on the right of midfield and slotted in at right-back. When injury ruled Vitalii Mykolenko out at the start of last season, Garner was the unexpected choice to stand in at left-back. Typically, he acquitted himself well. It can feel as if centre-back is one of the few positions he has not occupied. He used to, though. Garner recalled: “I remember we had the tournament when I was a bit younger, the Nike Cup, when I was about 15. I was playing centre-back. Our defender got injured in the first game. I’ve always been half-decent with the ball at my feet so they thought, ‘we’ll push him into midfield’. I had a really good tournament and literally from there, I started playing midfield, going up with the older lads playing in midfield against the bigger lads, and just went on from there.” And yet, he remembered: “Even when I was with England Under 16s and 17s, I played centre-back.” Garner’s development since then has been incremental. His progress could be used as a stick with which to beat United, who sold him in 2022, concluding that they had got a decent price - £10m – for a player they felt would not progress to their first team. United signed Casemiro and Christian Eriksen that summer, Mason Mount and Sofyan Amrabat the following year. They have paid out £150m for midfielders this year and, arguably, could do with Garner. Not that he sees it that way. Garner and Gibbs-White were late additions to the squad (Getty) “I am a big believer that everything happens for a reason,” Garner said. “When I left, they signed three or four midfielders, world-class ones. Had I stayed I wouldn’t have been where I am today so I am more than happy that I left.” There are no regrets about returning to his native Merseyside. “One thousand percent. I think it was the perfect thing for me to do.” One breakthrough came in the colours of his country, winning the European Under-21 Championship in 2023. “One of the best moments of my career so far,” he said. His first season at Goodison Park had been interrupted by a bad back injury. He had begun to question if he was good enough. “So to come away with England and win the whole tournament and be named in the team of the tournament puts you in such a good mindset,” he said. He has got better year on year. Last season was his best, bringing Everton’s player-of-the-season award and his first two England caps, against Uruguay and Japan in March. After his debut, Thomas Tuchel was sufficiently impressed to call Garner England’s “mini [Fede] Valverde”. The Everton man was flattered to be mentioned in the same sentence as the Real Madrid maestro. “In my opinion he’s one of the best midfielders in the world,” he said. “To be compared to him is very good. There’s probably a little bit of similarities in terms of he plays in different positions – midfield, he’s played on the wing, he’s played right-back, basically the exact same as me - so to be compared to someone like that is good.” Garner was Everton's player of the season last year (PA) After Tuchel’s praise, then, it seemed as though Garner was on course to make England’s World Cup squad. Not so, he discovered. “It was a tough phone call because you don’t know whether it’s a yes or a no,” Garner said. “He just said that he could only take a certain amount of players and I’ve missed out.” Another phone call brought better news, albeit at an inconvenient time. Garner had been omitted from another England squad, for the four Nations League games against Spain, Czechia and Croatia. Then Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo were among five players to pull out. Two names were added: Morgan Gibbs-White and Garner. “I had literally just got into my hotel room and I got the call,” said the latter. “I had just arrived in Turkey so it was a very short holiday.” His experience of Bodrum was brief; arriving after midnight, he went to the airport the next morning to return to England. “I’m trying to work on a little thing on the hotel so that I’m not losing all my money, so I can at least go back and have the holiday that I paid for,” he smiled.