Jordan Pickford has finally signed his new contract which will keep him at Everton until 2027 in a major boost for the team and manager Sean Dyche ahead of tomorrow’s huge game with Aston Villa.
Pickford’s new deal has been on the table for a while now and it did at one point seem very possible that he would leave the Toffees’ in the coming summer transfer window.
But, news broke recently that he was ready to commit again to Everton, despite the club’s current difficult situation and struggles on the pitch.
The England goalkeeper has been in generally superb form over the last few seasons and at 28 is theoretically entering his peak years.
Crucially, Pickford’s new contract apparently doesn’t include a relegation clause, which is interesting and would mean he seems to be confident that the Blues’ will stay up.
This is also a significant vote of confidence in his new manager Dyche and the improvement in the team and results that he has been able to oversee, so far anyway.
While of course I don’t know for sure, is it a total coincidence that Pickford waited to sign his new contract until after Frank Lampard was sacked?
I have no idea whether there was any tension between them or if the keeper lost faith in him and his methods, but Pickford certainly didn’t seem as though he was in any hurry to sign on the dotted line, earlier in the season.
Anyway, whatever the truth of all that is, Dyche’s arrival and the apparent transformation of the team, at least in the two home wins, does seem to have energised key players in this Everton squad and given a renewed sense of optimism.
Let’s hope it doesn’t turn out to be misplaced, as unfortunately too often has been the case in the past under so many previous managers.
The next test for the new regime comes in a few hours time when the Blues’ host Aston Villa in the latest of their ‘must-win’ matches at the Grand Old Lady.