Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson has claimed Everton’s Jordan Pickford showed a new side to himself against Montenegro, and could become a game-changer for club and country.
Pickford featured between the sticks in the Three Lion’s rout of Montenegro last week, as Gareth Southgate’s side stormed to a 7-0 win that booked their place at next summer’s Euro 2020 tournament.
Southgate made changes to his XI on Sunday when England travelled to Kosovo as he used the clash as a chance to test some new options, with Pickford dropped in favour of Burnley’s Nick Pope.
But Pickford’s efforts in a mostly quiet evening at home to Montenegro left Robinson mightily impressed, as he did not wilt when called upon despite spending much of the game as a spectator alongside the thousands attending England’s 1,000th men’s international game.
“The hardest thing for a goalkeeper at international level, actually any level to be honest, is when you’re not involved in the game,” Robinson told Football Insider. “But he stayed focused and he stayed concentrated, actually he made an absolutely outstanding save to stop a header.
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“There wasn’t a lot made of it, in the first-half, yes they were never going to come back and win the game, but it was so important at that stage.
“[At] Everton and Sunderland, he has been busy making saves and has regularly been involved in games, but he showed a side of him that we haven’t really seen – he can stay confident, he can stay calm, he can stay focused for 90 minutes and he can make one or two saves that will potentially see a side win the game.
“It wasn’t match-winning the other night, but going forward it could potentially be.”
Montenegro’s Marko Simic forced a save straight out of the top draw from Pickford in the 26th minute last week, when the visitor’s centre-half powerfully connected with the ball after beating Manchester United’s Harry Maguire at a corner.
Pickford was again called upon to keep England’s clean sheet intact after a defensive blunder allowed Fatos Beqiraj through on goal, but the striker’s effort was hit straight at our £36million-rated ‘keeper.
Pickford was barely called into action after the break, but has been busy at Goodison Park this season, with the 25-year-old averaging 2.2 saves per ninety minutes in the Premier League, along with 0.3 aerial duels, 0.7 clearances and 31.2 passes, per WhoScored data.