da dobrowin： According to a report in The S*n, Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has ordered director of football Marcel Brands to find him a top-class goalkeeper to rival number one Jordan Pickford, and it should act as a wake-up call for the England international.
What’s the word, then?
da realsbet： Well, the report says that the experienced Italian boss has already lost patience with a number of his players despite only being in charge for a few weeks, with Pickford named as an individual who should be wary of losing his spot following an up and down 2019/20 season – indeed, he was heavily criticised by Gary Neville for his actions in the defeat to Man City in September.
It goes on to say that the former Napoli chief has demanded his Dutch colleague to go and find him a stopper who presumably is good enough to potentially oust the Three Lions star from between the sticks.
The 25-year-old, who earns £100,000-a-week according to Spotrac, has played every single minute of the Merseyside outfit’s campaign so far, and has also been slammed by his own fans for his displays.
Had it too easy
While it is understandable that Pickford has been on the team-sheet for all of the Toffees’ Premier League fixtures this term, it is slightly more confusing why he has also been preferred in both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup to date.
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Usually that can be an opportunity for the second-choice goalkeeper to get a chance, but it hasn’t happened in this case – that perhaps says more about the quality of Maarten Stekelenburg and Jonas Lossl given their English teammate hasn’t been particularly brilliant.
The duo have actually swapped places on the substitutes’ bench this season too, with Lossl not being seen in the matchday squad since Marco Silva’s departure.
Pickford hasn’t really had that stiff competition for his spot ever since joining in 2017, making 112 appearances in all competitions.
That can easily lead to complacency as he knows that being England’s first-choice goalkeeper leaves him in a good position not to be dropped for his club.
Ancelotti looks ready to shake things up though if this report is to be believed, and perhaps even get a stopper who is good enough to start ahead of the former Sunderland man.
Pickford has had it a bit too easy at Goodison Park for a while now, but that could soon change thanks to his new manager.
In other Everton news, one of Ancelotti’s transfer targets this week gave Toffees fans a mouthwatering glimpse of what they could have…