Jordan Pickford private stance on summer transfer as unseen Everton influence becomes clear
In the final minutes of stoppage time Jordan Pickford flung himself across his goal and pushed wide Luke Berry’s glancing header.
It was not his best save of recent weeks, nor his most important. In fact, with Everton safe, it barely mattered. Yet that he was alert enough and determined enough to make it told one of the most significant stories of his club’s recent struggles.
No player has done more to keep Everton in the Premier League across three consecutive relegation battles. That England’s number one has peaked at a time when Everton have slumped belies a crucial factor in his success - that he is happy on Merseyside and loyal to the club that gave him a chance.
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Elijah Adebayo’s goal at Luton was the first Pickford had conceded in more than 300 minutes. The three games before saw him keep three clean sheets in the week that saved Everton. Among those wins were crucial saves - to Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Mo Salah in what became a landmark Merseyside derby win, to Ivan Toney as Everton defeated Brentford to secure survival and, of most significance, the superb stop to Chris Wood that kept Nottingham Forest out just before half-time in the game that kickstarted this run of form. The save from Wood was almost as good, and perhaps just as vital, as the season-defining stops he made with relegation staring Everton in the face as, last year, James Maddison started his run up from 12 yards at Leicester City or when Cesar Azpilicueta forced him into one of the saves of the Premier League era at home to
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