OPINION
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is most certainly not a player who is on Marco Silva’s departure list, but his heroics in England’s crunch World Cup clash against Columbia last night (3 July) could have Chelsea sniffing around this summer.
The Mirror reported that current Blues stopper Thibaut Courtois is still speculating over his club future, refusing to rule out a move to Real Madrid – and the West London outfit have even enquired about Leicester City’s Kasper Schmeichel, as revealed by Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol.
Chelsea & Roma interested in signing Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. Both clubs will buy new keepers if they sell Courtois & Alisson this summer.
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) July 2, 2018
However, Chelsea must stun Everton with a move for Pickford instead, who justified his spot in the England team due to his penalty shoot-out heroics.
Should England progress further in the tournament, the 24-year-old’s stock is only going to rise, and he will likely replicate his impressive form once he returns to the Premier League.
The Blues need to take advantage of this while they can, and snap up Pickford from the club’s Premier League rivals in a move that would stun their fellow top-flight clubs.
Pickford is not the tallest of keepers, standing at six foot (source: Transfermarkt), but his ability to read players and save penalties is a quality that has often gone under the radar for his club, and a quality that Chelsea have lacked for the last few seasons.
He has never been the biggest name in the goalkeeping world, but he certainly will be now – and Chelsea would be mad not to be drawn to his talent given that they actively seeking out a keeper.
It remains to be seen whether he can fulfil his true potential at Everton, and moving to a club like Chelsea may just catapult him into the goalkeeping elite.
Pickford deserves to be playing for a top-four club in the Premier League, and with his addition into the side, Chelsea may just have a title-winning combination on their hands.