Everton and England number one Jordan Pickford
Manchester United goalkeeper Tom Heaton has claimed that Everton star Jordan Pickford has been "brilliant" in an England shirt during Euro 2024.
Although it hasn't been the most enthralling tournament for England with the Three Lions only just scraping by Slovakia in the round of 16, Pickford has been a standout player.
The Red Devils goalkeeper has lauded the performances of the former Sunderland man and has highlighted his passing as a key part of his game.
"Pickford has been absolutely brilliant in an England shirt," Heaton said on the Football Daily Podcast [4 July].
"I've been nothing but impressed with him. He's got a really good array of distribution and he's got the long-range pass, the mid-range, the short-range - every club in the bag.
"Jordan does playing out well and understands where and when to do that, picking the right time for the risk and the reward. He does it really well with both feet, which is a skill in itself.
"But I think a goalkeeper's goalkeeper is someone [whose] priority is to keep the ball out of the net and I think he does that really well."
Why Jordan Pickford is the first choice for England Although some fans may not like how aggressive Pickford is on a pitch, the simple fact is that whenever he wears the Three Lions shirt, he's a different animal.
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Thanks to his appearances in Euro 2024, he's now just seven England caps away from Joe Hart's overall outings for his country.
His importance to Gareth Southgate's squad is unrivalled and the same goes for the Toffees.
Sean Dyche would hate to lose Jordan Pickford this summer So much so that, thanks to his strong performances the Everton star man was even linked with a move away this season [TEAMtalk, 9 May].
However, it's hard to see him giving up his first-team role at Merseyside, especially because of how much of a 'cult hero' he has become at Goodison Park.
It almost feels as if the departure of the 30-year-old would be more harmful to Sean Dyche's team than the possible exit of Amadou Onana, especially with recent links to Florentino Luis [O Jogo, 6 July].
In other Everton news, the Toffees may have found their Dominic Calvert-Lewin replacement should the striker depart this summer.