Why Everton Should Avoid Spending £30m For Sunderland’s Jordan Pickford
Everton have had an £8million bid rejected for Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford as per reports from the Liverpool Echo. The report also claims that the relegated Black Cats want a fee in the range of £30million for the 23-year old, but Everton aren’t willing to match that figure and will only offer as high as £15million for the Englishman.
Pickford was one of the few positives for Sunderland in a season full of doom and gloom that culminated with them getting relegated to the EFL Championship and manager David Moyes leaving the club. The youngster, as a result, has attracted interests from several quarters.
However, it is Everton who have emerged as the front-runners for Pickford’s signature, but are reportedly baulking at the price tag that the Wearsiders have slapped on their prized asset.
The Toffees had a decent first season under new boss Ronald Koeman, finishing 7th in the Premier League and in the process, qualifying for the playoff stages of the UEFA Europa League for next campaign.
However, there is a lot of work to be done for Koeman and Everton if they are to better their results next season. And one of those areas, without a doubt, is the goalkeeping department. The current options at Koeman’s disposal – Maarten Stekelenburg and Joel Robles are not really top class options.
Stekelenburg, 34, was signed last summer from Fulham. While he may have won a lot throughout his career, his performances this season were uninspiring and was highly prone to errors. In 19 Premier League games, the Dutchman managed just 4 clean sheets and averaged a lowly 2.2 save per game.
His poor start saw Joel Robles get a run in the squad, where he started 17 games on a trot since December. The Spaniard did quite well, compared to his teammate, managing 10 shutouts in 20 league outings, conceding just 20 goals compared to Stekelenburg’s 26. Robles also averaged better when it came to average saves per game, finishing at 2.7 saves.
However, the shot-stopper recently claimed in an interview with IBTimes that he is not sure about his future, considering that he just has one year left on his existing contract and there has been no negotiations over a new one.
With Stekelenburg struggling and Robles’ future uncertain, a new goalkeeper becomes a necessity for the Merseysiders in the summer. Earlier they were linked with a move to Leicester City goalie Kasper Schmeichel, but now it seems like they have their eyes set on Pickford.
The 23-year England youth international made a total of 29 league appearances last season and managed just 4 clean sheets – although it had more to do with the leaky defence in front of him. Pickford managed an excellent 4.7 saves per game, giving an indication as to how many times he has saved Sunderland from an embarrassing scoreline.
Pickford made a total of 135 saves in the league in the recently concluded season, which is second only to Burnley’s Tom Heaton who made a total of 141 stops. So, it is not a surprise that the 23-year old is rated so highly and is in demand.
However, the £30 million price tag does seem a little steep, considering that he has just had one full season of senior football under his belt till date. At that price, the Toffees can manage to get a goalkeeper who has proven himself over more seasons.
Considering that Leicester City quoted a similar price for Kasper Schmeichel’s services, Everton would be better off investing in the Danish international who will come in with more experience in England and Europe and a Premier League winners’ medal too.
While it would seem like the club are hesitating in showing their might in the transfer market, Everton are doing the right thing by holding back on spending so much on a player who has barely played a year of senior football in the Premier League.
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