OPINION
Everton were reported as being in pursuit of Barcelona goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen on Friday but clearly he isn’t set to end up at Goodison Park based on the latest update by journalist Albert Roge.
Sport claimed that the Toffees were in negotiations to sign the 6ft 1in tall Dutch shot-stopper (Source: Transfermarkt), as they could possibly lose a goalkeeper this summer and they were keen to have a replacement already in place.
Since then, Sport journalist Roge has taken to his personal Twitter account to give an update on the Toffees’ pursuit and clarify what the article meant when it said Everton could lose a goalkeeper.
The Barcelona-based reporter, as shown by his location on his profile, suggested that the Toffees’ interest in Cillessen rested on Manchester United signing Pickford to replace David De Gea as the 25-year-old would be his replacement at Old Trafford if the Spanish keeper left.
https://twitter.com/albert_roge/status/1139518605920542720
“The Cillessen to Everton is part of the domino effect that will be on the goals. If De Gea leaves United, Pickford would be his replacement at Old Trafford and Cillessen would take his place at Everton,” wrote Roge on his Twitter account.
However De Gea may not be about to leave Old Trafford based on the latest report by ESPN, which in turn means Pickford isn’t needed at Old Trafford and that he isn’t about to leave the Toffees.
ESPN reported on Thursday that Manchester United were ready to offer De Gea a new contract and that they were not willing to sell the keeper at any price.
Given this strong stance and that Man United are likely to offer him an improved deal, compared to the five-year offer he previously rejected, then it’s easy to believe that De Gea is going nowhere.
The Man United keeper may have had a shaky end to his 2018/19 campaign where he made several blunders, he ended the season having conceded 63 goals in 47 outings, but his quality is known.
After all the 28-year-old has long been one of Man United’s better players across his 362 outings and it’s hard to see them giving up on him after a bad run of games.
Also it seems unbelievable that Man United would move to replace De Gea with Pickford if he did depart as the Toffees keeper did make his own fair share of blunders in his latest season.
The 25-year-old kept 14 clean sheets in his 40 outings in his 2018/19 campaign and conceded 50 goals, so on paper, he doesn’t seem a notable upgrade on De Gea.
So given that Roge has provided an update on Everton’s pursuit of Cillessen to claim it rests on Man United losing De Gea and signing Pickford to replace him, it’s clear the Barcelona player isn’t heading to Goodison Park anytime soon.