Everton: Jordan Pickford exit clause update emerges as Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United turn towards David Raya
Jordan Pickford does not have a “formal” relegation release clause in his new Everton contract but a deal could be done if the club go down, Ben Jacobs reports.
The England number one committed to the Toffees by signing an extension to 2027 on 24 February, after delays to the deal at board level had increased the interest of keeper-needy Premier League sides [Daily Mail, 27 December].
Speculation remains that the 29-year-old could still depart in the summer for as much as £50million, with Sean Dyche’s side still in a relegation battle despite the 1-0 win over Brentford lifting them to 15th on 11 March.
It had been reported by Paul Joyce in The Times on 23 February that Pickford’s new deal would not contain a release clause, before journalist Alan Nixon suggested on his Patreon [5 March] that there was a £35million exit provision in the contract.
CBS journalist Jacobs, writing for Fabrizio Romano’s Caught Offside Substack on Tuesday (14 March) has now clarified that there is nothing formal in the agreement, but relegation will nonetheless open the door to a move, with Tottenham “big fans”.
Spurs, along with Chelsea and Manchester United, have been eyeing the Everton star throughout this season, but Jacobs reports they have all now put Brentford stopper David Raya on their list of targets as well.
Take it out of their hands
Relegation to the Championship will send Pickford out of the door whether there is a clause in his deal or not, but the lack of one would possibly make it harder to get a set price for him unless there is a bidding war between the interested clubs.
Clearly, his departure will only be one point on a whole list of worries if Everton don’t beat the drop so it would be a lot easier all round to avoid the situation entirely.
Sean Dyche’s arrival has added 10 points to the total so far, and while that hasn’t taken the club out of danger it has given them a slight head start on their rivals who have to turn their game in hand into points to close the gap.
Raya couldn’t prevent Dwight McNeil securing the points with his wonderful first-minute strike in the win over Brentford a the weekend but has attracted plenty of admirers as the Bees went on an unbeaten run over over four months.
If Everton succeed in staying up the Spaniard’s availability should take the heat off of Goodison Park, where the hierarchy have sanctioned a big-money sale in the past two windows.
Richarlison and Anthony Gordon have left for Tottenham and Newcastle respectively for £105million combined, so it can never be ruled out the Farhad Moshiri and his board may be tempted for a big bid for Pickford, regardless of the contract extension.