Football icon Peter Shilton heaped praise on Everton’s Jordan Pickford after watching the goalkeeper play for England against the Netherlands on Friday.
The 68-year-old, who is still England’s most capped player with 125 caps, shared that he was impressed by many different aspects of Pickford’s play and backed the Toffees goalkeeper to continue to improve.
“Overall I was impressed by Pickford’s confidence — so important in a goalkeeper — and especially with his command around his area,” said Shilton as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“He seems comfortable with the ball at his feet, which has become so important in the modern game, and his distribution was excellent.
“Overall, however, I was impressed by Pickford’s performance. He may lack experience and at 24 he is still a young man, he will continue to improve.
“He has had only two England appearances and he has two clean sheets, you can’t better that.”
Shilton went on to admit that Pickford made some “mistakes” during England’s game on Friday, but admitted that overall the 24-year-old did well in only his second international appearance.
The Toffees 24-year-old has been a regular member of his club’s first-team this season, making 39 appearances across all competitions.
OPINION
Pickford should be flattered by Shilton’s assessment of his latest England performance. The 68-year-old is a legendary figure in the game and the retired goalkeeper knows what it takes to reach the highest-level in football. The Toffees 24-year-old appears to have the world at his feet currently, with pundits across the board opting to praise him. Sam Allardyce will no doubt hope the continued praise inspires Pickford to continuing performing to the best of his ability, as the Toffees manager needs him to help his side get results in the games that remain. If the Toffees goalkeeper keeps impressing his future might be away from Goodison Park sooner rather than later at this rate.