Credit: Imago

Daniel Lewis

Mon 27 April 2026 16:40, UK

Jordan Pickford needs to make a big change to his game on the back of Everton‘s loss to West Ham United.

That is the view of former Everton player Michael Ball, who has noticed a worrying trend in the England goalkeeper’s otherwise superb all-round game.

Pickford perhaps could have done better to deal with Tomas Soucek’s opener at the London Stadium, where Callum Wilson’s last-gasp strike proved the difference after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s leveller.

The 32-year-old has been superb once again for Everton this season, but it is it a now-familiar blemish to his game.

And reacting to Everton’s 2-1 loss in East London, Ball called for Pickford to make a change to his game when it comes to dealing with crosses into the box.

Jordan Pickford has clear weakness that needs working on

Pickford’s reluctance to come off his line has cost Everton before, with that an area opposition teams likely now target.

Pickford has made three errors leading to goals this season in the Premier League, although his remarkable saves have helped to save more points than the Toffees have dropped.

On the back of Soucek’s goal at the weekend, Ball wrote for the Liverpool Echo: “I’ve said it many times in my column over the years, Jordan Pickford is a fantastic goalkeeper bur his weak spot is on crosses. He very rarely comes out to try and claim them.

“I’m not saying he’s got to come out all the time, but I think his starting point needs to change. He starts on the goal line then goes backwards.

“He did it for the Van Dijk goal and West Ham’s opener. It happened a couple of times against Spurs.”

Ball is spot on in his assessment. This is not to criticise Pickford, who is clearly Everton’s number one and will hopefully still be first choice years from now.

But even the best players have weaknesses that can be improved, so hopefully this is something he now works on at Finch Farm.

How does Pickford compare with Premier League rivals this season?

Pickford boasts a save percentage of 70.3 in the Premier League this season, which is always a good barometer of how good a goalkeeper is at the most basic aspect – keeping shots out.

That is the eighth-best return in the Premier League, while his save percentage of 32.4 per cent is the fifth highest.

What the stats do not factor in, though, is how many goals have been preventable had Pickford come off his loan.

David Moyes will be as aware of the issue as anyone and it is that one per cent, so to speak, that Everton can gain next season should it be improved.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Goodison Park.