David Moyes hails early form shown by Everton midfielder James Garner

The 24-year-old has been a key figure for the Blues, featuring in every minute of their three league matches so far. Garner impressed when asked to fill in at left-back against Leeds United and Brighton & Hove Albion, before returning to his natural central-midfield role in last weekend's 3-2 victory at Wolves.

Garner leads Everton in several key areas, including passes (128), touches (198), tackles won (six) and interceptions (five). He also scored a powerful goal at Goodison Park against Brighton, underlining his growing influence on Moyes' side.

"I thought Idrissa (Gueye) and James were fantastic," Moyes told evertontv. "Jimmy's form is up there with some of the best I've seen around the country at the moment. He's been excellent and I hope that's recognised because he's playing at a really high level."

The win at Molineux meant Everton recorded their third successive away league victory, following last season's strong finishes at Fulham and Newcastle United. Moyes praised the travelling support and urged his players to keep delivering on the road.

"When you think of the away wins last season, we've done really well," he said. "We lost to Leeds from a dodgy penalty, but otherwise we've shown great form away. Our away fans are brilliant, and I hope we give them more good days this season."

Everton now head into the international break on the back of six points from their opening three fixtures, with Moyes keen to use the pause to sharpen fitness and recover injured players at Finch Farm.

"We'll get a few lads back into shape and a few who need recovery will benefit," he added. "It's a decent start for us, but we've got a lot to improve on. We want to keep challenging and be in a high place if we can, but we'll stay grounded.

"The important thing is we've shown enough quality to believe we can build on this."

Everton return to action after the break with a home fixture against Aston Villa, where Garner is expected to remain central to Moyes' plans.

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