Everton thrashed Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium at the weekend to leave Sean Dyche scratching his head.
A Nikola Milenkovic own goal and strikes from Thierno Barry and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall ensured a comprehensive victory for the hosts.
Forest were way off their best form, and being brutally honest, it’s provided some concern for supporters, with Forest dangerously close to the relegation zone.
Everton had a number of top performers on the day, and one player offered a reminder of what Forest are missing in their midfield engine room.
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James Garner shows Nottingham Forest what they’re missing
Forest have been linked with a move to re-sign Garner, with his contract at Everton drawing to a close at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
Garner spent two seasons on loan at the City Ground earlier in his career, with the midfielder helping the Reds end a 23-year wait to return to the Premier League.
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After Manchester United opted not to immediately sell him after Forest’s promotion, the Reds signed other midfielders, paving the way for Everton to swoop in and land him.
On Saturday, Garner was everything that Forest lacked in midfield, with his stats up there with the very best performers during the contest.
Garner will likely sign new Everton deal
A lot of interest is emerging in Garner and on current form, he might have thrown himself in line for an England call-up prior to the World Cup.
It feels as though a lot of the noise surrounding the future of Garner is born with the intention of his agent getting the Toffees to tie him down to a long-term deal.
Forest will likely have to consign Garner to the file marked one that got away and at 24-years-old, he looks to be showing some extremely positive performances this season.
Garner is absolutely an upgrade on some of the current options in the Forest midfield and ultimately, it’s a complete and utter travesty that he didn’t sign for the Reds permanently as was proven on Saturday.
Ibrahim Sangare has been largely impressive this season but Douglas Luiz has struggled to stay fit and Ryan Yates and Nicolas Dominguez haven’t been considered anything other than backup.
Naturally, Elliot Anderson has been brilliant but he will leave next summer and a player like Garner would make for the ideal replacement.
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