Everton have been struggling this season and are currently tangled in a difficult relegation challenge, which has led to a number of players’ futures being brought into question with the chance of relegation at its highest right now.
Frank Lampard will be relieved that his team managed to secure a victory over Newcastle United before the international break, which has put the Toffees three points clear of the relegation zone as it stands, but there is still a lot of work to do to secure safety in the Premier League over the remaining fixtures.
The Merseyside club have only themselves to blame when it comes to their current situation, conceding 47 goals this season so far and only scoring 29, leading to only seven wins and a staggering 16 defeats, with only 11 games left to go in the league, the team must pull together to maintain their status in top-flight football.
With that being said, there are key players who could be on their way out of the club regardless of the outcome this summer, both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison have been heavily linked with moves away from Goodison Park, and Jordan Pickford could be set to follow them, which would be an absolute nightmare for the club and the manager.
The £110k-per-week keeper who was hailed “magnificent” by Ian Wright after his England performance this weekend, was linked to a move to Tottenham Hotspur recently, and there is no doubt that Pickford’s future at the club will come into question this summer if the side are relegated at the end of the season.
The England number one has had his ability questioned numerous times over the last few seasons with Everton’s defensive play absolutely abhorrent. Indeed, commentator Ross Dyer called him a “huge liability” earlier this season while more commentary from BBC Radio 5 Live said that he’d made a “terrible” mistake in the game vs Spurs a few weeks ago.
However, this consistent and faultless performances for his national side have resulted in the ‘keeper guiding England to a World Cup semi-final and Euro final in recent years which rebuttal the doubts of his capabilities.
His most recent performance for England vs Switzerland last weekend further proved he is clearly not the problem at Everton and that he is exposed by the defenders ahead of him, with BBC reporter Phil McNulty defending Southgate’s choice to continue playing Pickford despite the problems at Goodison.
“Under the radar, he has been consistent in a desperately mediocre Everton side since the second half of last season.”
The Everton defenders have let Pickford down time and time again, with Michael Keane scoring multiple own goals, red cards picked up by Jonjoe Kenny and Mason Holgate, as well as numerous injuries to the experienced players in the back-line with Yerry Mina missing for large parts of the season so far, so it would be unfair to blame the 28-year-old for the issues.
Lampard must do everything he can to keep one of his most experienced players in the team next season, and the club must work hard to convince the keeper that his future is best spent at Goodison Park.
In other news: Insider claims £110k-p/w Everton star is “certain to go” this summer, it’s a disaster