Neville admits he was wrong about Everton star Jordan Pickford after what Rooney told him
Gary Neville has admitted he got it wrong about Everton star Jordan Pickford after Wayne Rooney named him as one of England’s most important players.
The Toffees star has been the national team number one for several years under Gareth Southgate and is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League after his performances for Everton in recent years.
And while appearing on The Overlap (30 May) during a conversation between Neville and Rooney about Euro 2024, the 30-year-old stopper was brought up by the Manchester United legends.
“Who is England’s most important current player? Who’s the one player that they couldn’t lose?” Neville asked, before Rooney shared his response.
“For me you look at Harry Kane,” he said. “It’s probably Kane or [Jordan] Pickford.”
That led to Neville questioning Pickford’s inclusion in the conversation, but Rooney doubled down.
“I think Jordan’s really important to England,” Rooney said. “Probably because Gareth [Southgate] hasn’t rotated him in friendly games as much as well, so we haven’t really seen what the keepers behind Jordan can do.”
Neville then admitted that he got it wrong when judging Pickford in the past.
“Do you rate Jordan Pickford? I think I got him wrong because when I first saw him for England I was worried about him for Everton. But the last three or four years to be honest with you I think he’s been brilliant.”
Rooney then explained why people may doubt the Toffees star, but revealed that he still feels he’s one of England’s most important players.
“I played with Jordan at Everton didn’t I and obviously I was in the England squad when he first got into the squad. I think because of the way he is people judge him.
“He’s a bit lively and some of the stuff he does, Joe Hart was similar, Ramsdale is similar as well, he’s a bit fidgety if you like. It doesn’t fill you with that confidence, but because you’re used to seeing him now and you know he performs I think it would be a big concern if he were to get injured.”
Jordan Pickford deserves more respect outside of Everton
It’s been a running theme for several years now that Pickford is massively underrated outside of Goodison Park to a lot of people, and it’s hard to understand why.
Yes, he has made errors in his playing career, but every goalkeeper has done that. He has been a consistently good performer for several years for both club and country and especially at major tournaments.
So it’s great to see that Rooney recognises him as being so important to the national team, considering there have regularly been question marks about him being the number one.
But it’s also great to see Neville openly admit that he made a mistake with his initial judgement of the ex-Sunderland man, because that could help to sway the public perception towards what it should be.
Despite the errors and aesthetics, both Everton and England are a weaker team without Pickford in the side and it’s about time that was recognised.
In other Everton news, the club could look to sign another Leeds star as well as Jack Harrison this summer.
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