Alan Shearer reckons that Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford should still be Gareth Southgate’s first choice for the England number one spot.
He has not been too pleased with the way the £100,000-a-week [Spotrac] player has been performing this season, most notably against Newcastle and Liverpool, but says that the lack of depth in the goalkeeper department is the one reason why he must keep his place in the starting XI.
The Match of the Day pundit did slam Pickford for making far too many errors this season despite having a stellar time with the national team at the World Cup.
“Jordan Pickford had a very good summer with England and that has given him plenty of credit in the bank, but he probably is starting to use some of that up now, as he has not had the best of seasons. He has made too many mistakes, most notably against Liverpool and then Newcastle recently,” he said in his Coral column.
“However, it’s in his favour that the number one spot is the position that we have the least amount of depth in, and for that reason I think that he will keep his place for the upcoming Euro qualifiers.
“Tom Heaton was doing well for Burnley but has dropped off in the last couple of games, and there’s nobody else coming in and really making a strong case for replacing Pickford.”
OPINION
Pretty much every single Everton fan knows that Pickford has not been good enough this season. He is a far cry from the player who kept England in the penalty shoot out against Colombia at the World Cup, which is a real shame. However, Shearer is absolutely spot on here. Pickford is lucky that there is not enough depth in the goalkeeping department for England at the moment. Tom Heaton has undergone a bit of a dip for Burnley at the moment, so there is not a chance of him usurping him any time soon. Nevertheless, Pickford should count himself very lucky at the moment. There must have been times where he was doubting his ability for Everton, and he must have thought that his chances of making the England squad were hanging by a thread. They must have been for a bit, but Southgate no doubt realises that he does not have any other better options at the moment.