Pranav Shahaney

Wed 14 July 2021 7:10, UK

Fabrizio Romano has admitted to feeling nervous looking at Jordan Pickford in goal for Everton.

However, the Sky Sports Italy journalist soon admitted that he’s impressed at Euro 2020.

Even in the final, the England number one made a few important saves in regulation time before making two crucial ones in the shootout.

Speaking about the final and Pickford’s performances live on his Twitch channel, Romano said, “To be honest, I feel he makes me nervous.

“However, he has a different feeling when he’s playing for national team.”

Spot on

Romano is right when he speaks about Pickford. He has looked shaky in the past, but we would say there’s been an improvement even before the EUROs began.

He seems to have found some confidence, which could be attributed to Carlo Ancelotti and the coaching staff or just down to him maturing as a player.

He appears to be more focused and demanding of his players and the mistakes in his game also have reduced.

His ability to play out from the back has also helped him stand out ahead of some of the keepers that relying purely on their shot-stopping abilities.

Given how the modern game has progressed, managers tend to look for keepers like Pickford. Even Gareth Southgate, who many thought would drop Pickford for Dean Henderson, stuck with the Everton stopper at the tournament.

It turned out to be the right decision as he ended up with the Golden Gloves and did himself and his nation proud. Seeing him lift the trophy would have been nicer, but there’s every reason for the Goodison faithful to be delighted with his performances for the Three Lions.

We can’t wait to have him back and give him a standing ovation next season as he’s certainly earned it.

In other Everton news, BBC pundit: ‘Excellent’ Everton ace has done something unexpected this summer

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