Thomas Tuchel calls star Man Utd sold for just £10m England’s ‘mini Valverde’ | Football

Thomas Tuchel has described Everton star James Garner as England’s ‘mini Valverde’ following his international debut against Uruguay.

The England boss made wholesale changes to his side on Friday night with Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, the pair expected to start in midfield at this summer’s World Cup, given the night off.

It opened up opportunities for the likes of Garner and James Trafford who made their first appearances for their country, with the Everton man battling Fede Valverde and Manuel Ugarte in midfield alongside Jordan Henderson.

Ben White scored on his England return before Valverde levelled from the spot late on.

Garner came through Manchester United’s academy, making his debut at 17 in 2019. He made just six more appearances for the club, joining Everton for £10million where he has grown into a first-team star.

In many ways, Garner is the sort of player United will be on the lookout this summer as they seek to rebuild in midfield.

The 25-year-old will hope to be part of Tuchel’s squad in the USA during that time after impressing on his international bow.

In the highest of praise, Tuchel compared his best qualities to those of Real Madrid star Valverde – recently hailed ‘the most underrated footballer on the planet’ by teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold.

‘I’m very happy [with Garner] — he’s our mini Valverde,’ Tuchel said.

‘He’s getting there, and he played very, very good. I was quite sure that he will play good because he has this natural confidence and he’s just very physical. He won a lot of balls.’

The England boss also pointed out where Garner can improve was overall very impressed with what he saw.

‘I think there are some situations where he can be a little bit more open in the body position and drive maybe a little bit more through midfield with a little bit more confidence,” he said.

‘I think in the last 10 minutes of the first half, he was involved in some ball losses that cost us a bit of confidence.

‘But overall I was very impressed with the way he trained and the way he behaved. The way he played was good.’

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