The Athletic’s Patrick Boyland has aired that Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti backs Jordan Pickford and that it is unlikely the Englishman will leave the Toffees.
The stopper has been situated at Goodison Park since the summer of 2017 after he signed from Sunderland in a deal that could have been worth up to £30m (per BBC).
Everton’s 26-year-old has recently come under fire for his sloppy performances, though. Especially following the Toffees’ 3-0 defeat to Wolves last weekend (per Liverpool Echo).
However, in the latest episode of The Athletic’s Gwlad Tidings podcast, Boyland aired that Ancelotti backs Pickford although he is not “immune” to criticism.
He said: “I think all of the players need to be assessed. This is now [Carlo] Ancelotti and [Marcel] Brands looking at the whole squad in its entirety and deciding what bits are fit for purpose, what bits aren’t, what bits might be fit for purpose in the years to come.
“Jordan Pickford has so far, to my knowledge, had loads of positive feedback from Carlo Ancelotti.
“Certainly in public, Ancelotti’s always praised Pickford and spoken positively about his quality and stuff like that, but he’s not going to be immune if he continues to perform, maybe to the extent he did against Wolves.
“[It was] maybe a little bit of a warning sign, even if I think it’s unlikely at this stage that Everton would actively look to cash in on somebody like Pickford.”
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, it seems that Ancelotti backs Pickford and it is “unlikely” that he would be sold even though his recent performances have been “a warning sign”.
Do you think that Jordan Pickford is good enough to be Everton's number one?
No, he's not good enough
Yes, he's a good player
A recent report by the Liverpool Echo which contained quotes from the Italian gaffer echoed Boyland’s sentiments as Ancelotti stated that Pickford is “not doing well” but the stopper still has his full backing.
So, it would seem that The Athletic journalist is correct in his assumptions.