Ben Foster hails ‘under-rated’ Everton star: ‘Absolutely phenomenal’
Jordan Pickford goes under the radar despite being Everton and England’s number one goalkeeper, according to Ben Foster.
Pickford has been solid this season and kept a clean sheet in Everton’s 2-0 win over Fulham before the Premier League paused for the international break.
His performances for the Toffees over the years have made him a favourite among fans.
But despite Pickford’s heroics in an Everton shirt, fans and pundits continue to omit him from debates about the current best Premier League keepers.
Jordan Pickford is a forgotten superstar
Pickford became England’s first keeper to keep nice clean sheets in a row in their 2-0 win over Albania on Sunday.
This came after he surpassed George Banks’ record of eight during the October international break.
Foster praised the shot-stopper in an appearance for talkSPORT via YouTube on 18 November, but believes playing for Everton has underrated him.
“If we just look at the England team for a second, I think that Pickford is of the modern era, probably the last 20 years our greatest goalkeeper,” he said.
“I really do think so. For how under-rated he is, I think he’s a victim of the fact that he plays for Everton.
“No disrespect to Everton, but I think that if he played for a big boy, everybody would be talking about him a lot more than what they already do.
“In the last four or five years for club and country, he’s found this level of consistency that just lends itself to England specifically so well. The run that he’s on with the national team in terms of clean sheets is absolutely phenomenal.
“But just having that goalkeeper where you know you’re going to get a seven out of 10 every game is such a nice thing for the manager. It’s that reliability that managers want.”
Either way, Everton fans will continue to be thrilled to have a keeper as consistent as Pickford playing for their club.
Jordan Pickford’s unique game state
Pickford is known for his unusual approach during games and is often unafraid to show some character on the pitch.
On some occasions, it can be described as a spectacle where fans are more concerned with his antics than the action elsewhere on the field.
“If you watch Pickford during a game, he’s a madman. Absolute madman. It’s like he has all this pent-up energy, nervous energy that he has to expend,” Foster continued.
“When the ball goes up the other end of the pitch, he kind of runs around talking to the bench, sort of commentating himself through the game.
“But I think he uses that to actually regulate himself and calm himself down so that when he is called upon, he’s ready to go.”
This attitude has helped cement him as one of the best keepers in the Premier League this season.
- Pickford has conceded 1.2 goals per game in the league this season
- He has made 29 saves which is 2.6 per game
- His save percentage is currently 69 per cent
The England international has also prevented 1.65 goals per game, and 22 of his saves have been made from inside the box, according to Sofascore.
Indeed, Pickford has been solid for Everton as well as England this period and will no doubt produce an incredible World Cup campaign this summer.
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