Everton results make Jordan Pickford stay more difficult amid unexplained contract delay
The delay in Jordan Pickford’s new Everton contract has now made it more difficult to convince him to stay at the club, according to The Times.
It emerged via the Daily Mail on Tuesday (27 December) that an unexplained hold up at board level had thrown the England keeper’s Toffees future into doubt with 18 months left on his current deal.
Pickford had reportedly agreed a five-year extension last month and was prepared to commit his future to the club, amid interest from the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham.
But according to Paul Joyce in The Times there has been “little meaningful progress” towards a new contract since the end of last season which ended seven months ago in May, and the ongoing links to Spurs and United are cited to prove he will have no shortage of takers if he is available to leave.
The miserable recent form for Frank Lampard’s side has apparently now complicated matters as another relegation battle appears to be on the cards, and the prospect of including a relegation clause in new deal for Pickford will only slow the situation further.
The 28-year-old is said to be “waiting for Everton’s opening gambit” as the club have instead turned attentions to Anthony Gordon and Alex Iwobi’s deals, which are both close.
Divorce?
Having experienced a Euro final and numerous World Cup knockout games as England’s number one the prospect of grinding through repeated relegation battles at Everton will seem far from enticing but there appears to have been a willingness to commit previously all the same.
Considering how close the club came to dropping into the Championship last year it should be a given that relegation clauses are included in contracts for the foreseeable future.
But if so many Premier League rivals are circling with a view to snap Pickford up, should relegation happen it seems pretty unlikely that the Toffees would be lumbered with an unaffordable contract either way.
If the club are prepared to let Pickford leave then simply letting his contract tick down is only going to reduce his transfer value, at a time when maximising a return on any saleable assets is of major importance.
Asmir Begovic is a serviceable back up but it seems risky to part with one of the biggest names in the squad who on his day can be unbeatable.
Without Pickford’s saves against Chelsea and Leicester late last season then there is every chance Everton would have been relegated then, and while there is a need to lighten the wage bill further after the cavalier spending under previous managers a player who is a guaranteed starter when fit doesn’t seem the most obvious place to do so.
There is a major hole in attack at the moment and the potential for one in goal seems the last thing this squad needs.