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Everton's emerging leaders discuss battle to replace influence of Seamus Coleman In this special Royal Blue column, our Everton FC correspondent Joe Thomas discusses the effort to fill the leadership void with James Tarkowski, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Jarrad Branthwaite and Hayden Hackney One of the big challenges for Everton heading into the new campaign is overcoming the leadership vacuum left by Seamus Coleman and Idrissa Gueye. The reality is the pair, Coleman in particular, were of such importance that their influence cannot be completely replaced - not immediately, anyway. One voice who will be central to bridging the gap is James Tarkowski, who has worn the captain’s armband more than anyone else amid Coleman’s recent injury struggles. Speaking to the ECHO after the friendly win in Hamburg, the 33-year-old accepted he would initially have to take on more responsibility. He did, however, highlight some of the emerging voices in the dressing room - from James Garner to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jarrad Branthwaite. I’ve not had the chance to speak with Garner this summer, but I have interviewed the other two this month. When I put Tarkowski’s words to Dewsbury-Hall at the Oschberghof resort the players stayed at near the Black Forest, the playmaker made clear that, as a senior player, he relished the opportunity to help set standards in the coming years. He told me: “Losing someone like Seamus and Idrissa is massive for any football club. It's just true. So, it's about the lads now in the dressing room stepping up and trying, not to replace it because you can't replace someone like Seamus, but trying to help bring everyone together again. “That is definitely something I want to be part of. I've always said, look, I'll try and gain respect from players on the pitch first, because I think that's the most important thing. And then you get respect off the pitch. “I'm coming into my prime now as a footballer. I want to be a player that helps lads - younger lads, older lads. It's all about collaboration and I feel like that is definitely something I'm trying to help, with people like Tarky and other senior lads in the dressing room… It's maybe not just putting it on one person, it’s more likely a group of us that can help.” Tarkowski started the game in Stuttgart a few days later on the bench, leaving David Moyeswith a decision to make on who to hand the armband to. He chose Branthwaite. After the match, the young centre-back said he too was keen to start taking on a more senior role. He told me: “I think I am at a point in my career now, I think, for me, Jimmy [Garner], Kiernan, alongside Tarks, we need to step up and try and help. I think it's what I want to do, it will do me the world of good. We have lost two massive characters in the dressing room, so we need to fill that void and hopefully we can do that.” Their job should be made easier by some of the club’s summer signings. Christian Norgaard was captain at Brentford before his move to Arsenal and he spoke about the leadership role he intends to take at Everton when he signed earlier this month. Hayden Hackney Hackney is younger and less experienced - but he had the armband at Middlesbrough last season and so is another emerging leader who could be useful for Moyes to call upon. For the 24-year-old, the focus is on settling into his new home and building a foothold in the Premier League after a career so far spent in the Championship. But he, too, arrives with a desire to put his head above the parapet and help the side where he can. Hackney told me in Germany: “I think it'll take time. There's obviously a lot of senior lads here. They make it easy for everyone and they set the standards as well. But obviously, as time goes, I can do that as well if needed.”