Everton: Sky Sports journalist drops contract update on three key players
Everton’s key trio Alex Iwobi, Jordan Pickford and Anthony Gordon are all “quite keen” to sign new deals at Goodison Park, according to Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett.
It is indeed no secret that the Toffees are suffering from huge financial difficulties [30 June] right now, which means the club’s board have their hands tied when it comes to recruitment and securing new contracts for key players.
A number of Frank Lampard’s players including Michael Keane, Tom Davies and Mason Holgate have all been linked with moves away so far this month, in the hope of freeing up some funds but it’s proving difficult with clubs looking for loan moves rather than permanent ones.
Despite the club’s plight and lowly position in the Premier League table, three of Lampard’s key and trusted lieutenants still wish to remain at Goodison for the foreseeable future. However, Dorsett has revealed that because of their current situation, the board are reluctant to thrash out new terms just yet.
Speaking to Sky Sports live on air [11 January], he said: “The three players, in particular; Anthony Gordon, two and a half years left on his deal. Remember, Chelsea were prepared to pay £60m for him, as we reported in the summer. I don’t think it came to a bid, but they made it clear they were prepared to pay £60m – that’s gone now.
“Jordan Pickford, he has 18 months left on his deal and Alex Iwobi [has] 18 months, too. My understanding is that all three of those are quite keen to sign new deals, they want to stay at Everton. But there’s nothing forthcoming on the table from an Everton perspective right now in terms of an offer for those.
“Why is that? Is that because of financial concerns? I’m told not. People I’ve been speaking to close to the club say look, they’ve got at least six months to deal with that, they’re not worried these players are going to go elsewhere, apparently – let’s focus on the ins and the outs elsewhere before we sit down with these guys and tie them up.”
Encouraging
The fact that all three of Gordon, Pickford and Iwobi are willing to discuss new terms should indeed come as a source of encouragement for the Everton board, and more importantly Frank Lampard.
Those three players have all been vital and key cogs in Lampard’s squad during his tenure so far, and they are players that the club should indeed be desperate to build the club around.
It’s understandable that the club are wanting to take a step back from talks because of their current financial situation but they cannot afford to leave it too late, as all three players are all good enough to move on to much better clubs.
If the Toffees are clear about their future and building a competitive squad in the next few windows, then swiftly securing the futures of Iwobi, Pickford and Gordon are of vital importance.
Pickford, especially, is certainly attracting interest from elsewhere with Manchester United and Tottenham all rumoured recently to be monitoring him, and at 18 months left on his contract, the club are in a vulnerable position where they could lose such an important player for a small fee, which will do nothing to fix their financial situation.
Common sense will need to prevail if the Toffees are to improve both on and off the pitch in the long term.