Saikat Mandal

Wed 7 December 2022 21:40, UK

John Barnes has showered heaps of praise on Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, suggesting he is irreplaceable in the England squad.

The former Liverpool winger notes that Pickford, 28, has never let his England manager Gareth Southgate down, and in that way, he is similar to Harry Maguire, regardless of how they play for their clubs.

Pickford has been the first-choice keeper for Southgate in the World Cup, and he has been brilliant as usual.

“I don’t think there’s another alternative really. He’s the number one goalkeeper and I don’t think there’s anyone else who should play instead of him,” said Barnes to BonusCodeBets [7 December].

“He’s never let England down and Gareth Southgate has stuck with him. It’s similar to Harry Maguire where I think regardless of how you play for your club there will always be players who play better for England.”

Top class

Pickford has taken his game to a whole new level in the last couple of years, and Barnes is absolutely spot on here.

He played a massive role for the club as the Toffees avoided relegation last season, and he has been outstanding so far in the league for the Toffees.

While England do have other quality goalkeepers, it’s hard to see Southgate dropping Pickford unless he picks up an injury. Against Senegal, Pickford made a couple of great saves and kept a clean sheet as England moved to the quarter-finals.

It will be interesting to see if Everton can keep hold of Pickford beyond his contract.

TEAMtalk journalist Graeme Bailey reported on 9 November that Tottenham Hotspur have earmarked Pickford as one of their options to replace Hugo Lloris.

Pickford has two years remaining on his deal that he signed in 2018, and as per The Guardian [29 June], the Toffees are planning to offer their star keeper a new contract extension.

It is important for any club to keep hold of their key players, but there’s also the business side. But, it looks unlikely that Pickford will leave the club anytime soon.