TBR View: Everton must sign Jordan Pickford competition to push struggling £25m star

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Jordan Pickford is something of a divisive figure, for both club and country. There is no doubting his ability but the England number one also has a knack for making the odd silly mistake that leaves fans with their head in their hands. 

Everton need to act in the summer, and it appears they might. The Sun reported in January that Carlo Ancelotti wants the club to find a new goalkeeper in January. That never happened, but you can imagine Everton will be looking again come January. The likes of Tomas Strakosha and Ugurcan Cakir of Lazio and Trabzonspor respectively have already been tentatively mentioned. 

Everton must bring in a new goalkeeper in the summer, that should be of no doubt. That goalkeeper also needs to be of the highest quality. But it does not necessarily mean replacing the £25 million (BBC) Everton starter. 

But he needs serious competition to remain on top of his game. 

Pickford has simply not had any serious competition during his time as Everton’s number one stopper. 

Last season he had veteran back-up Maarten Stekelenburg supporting him whilst Joel Robles didn’t get a look in the season before. Last summer Jonas Lossl was brought in, but the Dane has since been sent back to former club Huddersfield Town on loan. 

The lack of genuine threat breeds comfortability that an elite player should not possess. Everton need to sign a genuine contender to his number one spot to get the best out of Pickford, or to see if he falls by the wayside. Either way, it will be to Everton’s benefit in the long-term.