Everton have yet to win a Premier League game this season and Jordan Pickford is under pressure because of it.
The Toffees have endured a torrid start to the season and sit rock-bottom of the table, separated from winless Southampton by goal difference.
It isn’t just results that have gone against the Merseyside club. The nature of some of their defeats, including throwing away back-to-back 2-0 leads, have left Sean Dyche fighting for his job.
And according to recent reports, the 53-year-old is so desperate to turn his side’s fortunes around that he is considering dropping one of their most important players.
Sean Dyche could drop Jordan Pickford
Goalkeeper Pickford has conceded 13 league goals already this season and is arguably in the worst form of his career.
The Sun claim the 30-year-old is at risk of losing his place with an ‘unhappy’ Dyche considering replacing him in the January transfer window.
Newcastle United’s Nick Pope — a player Dyche has extensive experience working with following their time together at Burnley — has emerged as the Everton manager’s preferred target.
The Magpies’ stance on losing their number one mid-season is unknown, but it’s fair to assume Eddie Howe would prefer it if the club kept hold of the 32-year-old.
For Pickford, these latest reports will serve as a huge worry — not only is his domestic career at stake, but his standing within the England squad is also at risk — and even more so now Gareth Southgate has left his role as manager.
Everton host fellow strugglers Southampton in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night. The fixture between Dyche and Russell Martin, although in a second-tier cup competition, feels hugely significant in the race to avoid becoming the first Premier League manager to be sacked.
Top photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Pickford is the reason EFC are still in premiership, if you look at Saturday, the reason for considering goals is Keane, and a bloody minded manager that refuses to accept that obvious fact, IMO, both have to go.
I agree, we have lost 4 games and Dyche persists in sticking with hat was the point of paying millions for O Brien and leaving him on the bench despite us conceding so many goals? I know Dyche did a good job of keeping us in the premiership last season but his negative tactics mean we will be under pressure in lots of our fixtures through the rremainder of the season.
mr dyche should look at him self a bit more, you only have to look at a lot of his signings. The people he gets are from burnley, he never gets top quality players to come to everton, may be its because mr dyche is the manager. If pickford has let us down a few times so what how many times has he saved us.May be mr dyche cant count and do you become englands number one when you play badly for your club. stop making exscuses dyche and sort it or go.
its not just keane but mcneil who as a winger is utterly useless he marks more space than an actual player why buy another centre back and use keane dont see the logic
Leave Wickford alone, dyche needs a kick up the backside