New deals for Pickford and Garner set to follow Tarkowski’s renewal

Jordan Pickford and James Garner are set to follow their vice-captain James Tarkowski and sign new deals with Everton in the coming days, reports Paul Joyce of The Times.

“James Tarkowski has agreed a new contract at Everton that will run until 2028. Deals expected to follow shortly for Jordan Pickford and James Garner,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Signed from Burnley in 2022 as a free agent, Tarkowski’s new contract will see him staying on Merseyside until the summer of 2028. He has been influential in leading the backline for Everton and hasn’t missed a single minute of competitive football this season after returning from a hamstring injury at the start of the campaign.

Tarkowski suffered that injury against Manchester City on April 19, which brought to an end his streak of 109 consecutive starts for the club in the Premier League.

Pickford and Garner are expected to be the next to follow. While Pickford’s contract is set to expire in the summer of 2027, Garner is in his final year on his current deal.

Pickford, signed from Sunderland for an initial fee of £25 million, then the third most expensive goalkeeper ever, has been one of the most important players in the club’s modern history.

He has been consistently reliable in between the sticks and has played a major role in ensuring the Blues’ continued presence in the top-flight. The 31-year-old has also been England’s undisputed number 1 in goal for nearly eight years now and is expected to continue with the club for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, Garner was signed from Manchester United for £9 million in 2022. The 24-year-old midfielder has begun the current season on a spectacular level and has been one of the standout players for Everton during the early stages of the campaign so far.

He has been dominant in his usual position in the middle of the pitch and has also excelled at makeshift assignments in the full-back role.

David Moyes has lauded Garner’s performances and has suggested that the England camp take a closer look at him. When asked about the prospect of offering a new contract to the 24-year-old in the pre-match press conference before Everton faced Aston Villa last month, Moyes said, “I don’t know if he’s in the last year of his contract. I’m sure there will be a clause in there where we’ve got him so, I couldn’t even answer that question.”

The Blues boss then turned to head of media Andy Neild who accompanies him at all press functions, who remarked: “We don’t go into clauses.”

Idrissa Gana Gueye, Michael Keane, Jarrad Branthwaite and Seamus Coleman had also signed new deals with the club this summer.