New Everton arrival James Garner is Frank Lampard’s ‘X-Factor’ at the club, journalist Paul Brown has claimed.

The Lowdown: Garner’s arrival

On transfer deadline day, it was announced that the Toffees had signed the 21-year-old midfielder from Manchester United in a deal worth £15m.

The England under-21 international is yet to feature in a Blues shirt, having been an unused substitute against Brighton and Brentford in his previous club's first two games of the season.

The defensive midfielder made seven senior appearances for the Red Devils following his academy days with the club.

The Latest: Brown’s claim

Despite Garner’s recent omissions from Everton’s matchday squad against Liverpool, Brown believes that the youngster could prove to be an ‘X-Factor’ option for Lampard this season, as it is unclear where the manager sees him playing.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the journalist claimed: “The X-Factor is Garner because we’re not sure where Lampard sees Garner playing.

“A lot of people who know Garner and have watched him from an early age think that his best position is the sitter just in front of the back four, where he can run a game, dictate the tempo and use his passing range.

“He is probably the only midfielder Everton have got with that kind of passing range who can be that fulcrum there to begin passing moves and to play that ball over the top if they need it.”

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The Verdict: Hopefully see him soon

Garner received huge plaudits for his impressive loan spell with Nottingham Forest last season, when he made 49 appearances in all competitions for the Reds.

As per WhoScored, the midfielder bagged eight assists in the Championship, having averaged two key passes, 1.6 crosses and 1.5 long balls per game.

As a result, he was rated as Forest’s best player for the 2021/22 campaign by Sofascore, averaging an incredible 7.26 match rating across the season.

Hailed as a ‘superb’ footballer by FourFourTwo journalist Mark White, it appears that Lampard has secured a huge coup for the Toffees, so fans will surely be eager to see him in action for Everton as soon as possible.