Everton saw one of their big players make a move away from Goodison Park during the previous summer transfer window as Richarlison joined Tottenham Hotspur in a deal worth £60m.
Looking ahead to the next transfer windows, Everton’s director of football, Kevin Thelwell, must avoid seeing another one of the Merseyside club’s top players wave goodbye to Goodison Park and join another Premier League club.
Specifically, recent reports have mentioned Toffees goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, with a move to Manchester United, who are currently working out David De Gea’s future at the club.
Everton signed Pickford from Sunderland back in the 2017 summer transfer window for an initial fee of £25m.
Since then, the Englishman has gone on to make 205 appearances for Frank Lampard’s side across all competitions, keeping 55 clean sheets in the process.
This season has seen the 28-year-old show just how important he is for his side by racking up the second-highest save percentage in the Premier League (83.9%).
In addition to that, Pickford’s overall performances have earned him an impressive season rating of 7.26/10 from WhoScored, making him the highest-rated player at Everton to have started more than one league game.
This shows not only how important he is for Lampard’s side but also why United reportedly have him on their radar for a potential future transfer move.
It also backs up why former Everton player Leon Osman lauded the England international’s performance against Liverpool earlier in the season as “outstanding” and described his saves as being “crucial” on the day.
Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to say that the £100k-per-week Toffees star is a key figure for Lampard and would be a massive blow for the club if he were to leave anytime soon.
Moving forward, Thelwell must do all he can to keep the shot-stopper out of United’s clutches and make sure he puts pen to paper on the reported new deal the club are looking to get him to secure.
