Player profile – Jordan Pickford

Standing at 6 ft 1, 23 years old, Sunderland born and bred, an England under 21 regular.

There’s a reason young Pickford has already been rewarded with his first call up to the senior national side.

Jordan found himself in the Sunderland net when first choice Vito Mannone picked up an injury.

And boy did he grab it with both hands.

He was without doubt the only man to come out of Sunderland’s abysmal relegation season with his head held high.

Don’t look too much into the meagre four clean sheets picked up by Pickford.

A defence featuring players, if you can call them that, such as Bryan Oviedo, John O’Shea, Joleon Lescott and Billy Jones would make even the Manuel Neuer’s of this world struggle.

What he lacked in clean sheets was compensated in saves, 141 of them to be exact (finding himself second in the saves made charts, just one behind fellow England international Tom Heaton).

He’s got the shot stopping ability, and much more.

Pickford’s distribution is quality. His ability to find his man with a long punt up the field isn’t luck and this is something the Blues could use and abuse.

A secret weapon.

His frame – on the smaller size for a keeper – is nothing to turn your nose up at, the 43 claims Pickford produced throughout last campaign show he’s no slouch in the air.

Age on his side, the youngster has plenty of time to get better and better and better.

He really does have the potential to be Everton and England’s last line of defence for the next 10 to 15 years.

Don’t believe me? Well just look at what the greatest player to don the No1 shirt in the club’s history had to say about Everton’s rumoured to be £30 million man…

Not enough to sway you over?

England’s record cap holder and one of the finest goalkeepers of his generation, Peter Shilton, believes Pickford is “worth every penny”.

High praise from two of the beautiful game’s best.

Pickford is a top drawer ‘keeper with the world at his feet.

The man can go as far as he wants in the game and don’t let the reported fee put you off – trust Steve Walsh and Ronald Koeman. They know what they are doing.

Up the Toffees.

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