Why Jordan Pickford is the Premier League’s most overlooked world-class goalkeeper | OneFootball

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The case of Jordan Pickford is a curious one. It’s difficult to think of a footballer whose standing appears so different inside and outside of Everton circles.​

For those within, there’s no doubt that Pickford belongs in elite company. If he’s not been the best goalkeeper in the Premier League this season – and for several previous seasons – then he’s certainly right among them.

​Pickford claimed his 100th clean sheet for the Toffees last weekend and did so in trademark fashion. An instinctive reaction save from Enzo Fernandez became the latest addition to a stunning save showreel for the 2025-26 season.

​Just weeks earlier, a sensational strong hand denied Sando Tonali at Newcastle in a save Pickford regards as the best of his career. Others will have personal preferences. A sprawling stop to deny Cesar Azpilicueta against Chelsea springs immediately to mind. Or an extraordinary double save to stop Sheffield United from scoring at Bramall Lane. Each world-class.

But Pickford’s performances have rarely commanded the recognition they deserve. This is a goalkeeper who has rarely let anyone down, for club or country. In an England career that has spanned 81 caps, the need to fine-comb for mistakes is enough evidence of his quality. How many England Number 1s, championed or chastised, have been as reliable?

The data paints the picture. His 11 clean sheets in the Premier League this season are second only to David Raya, a goalkeeper protected by a backline often hailed as the league’s best defence.

Pickford’s 11 shut-outs come despite being forced to make the fourth-most saves in the Premier League, 36 more than Raya, and 22 more than Manchester City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, also holder of 11 clean sheets.

Clean sheets are, of course, earned as a collective. Pickford, however, stands alone when it comes to goals prevented, the modern method of calculating goalkeeping performance.

The 32-year-old has prevented 6.0 expected goals, according to Opta, the highest over-performance in the Premier League. For context, the much-maligned Guglielmo Vicario has a goals prevented figure of –5.5 for struggling Spurs, while across town, Alisson Becker (often championed among the best publicly) also has a minus figure of –3.1.

To summarise, 13 goalkeepers in the Premier League have conceded more goals than they would reasonably be expected to, based on the quality of chance. Pickford is not only in the group to have outperformed, but he has done so by the biggest margin.

Only four goalkeepers have faced a higher expected goals against (xGA) than Pickford this season: Martin Dubravka, Vicario, and Djordje Petrovic. Somehow, he still sits top of the goals prevented rankings.

​So, where is all the fanfare? Why doesn’t Pickford get the outside recognition he deserves?

Maybe it’s the pantomime villain persona, one cultivated to such an extent that grown adults have tragically taken inflatable dinosaurs into stadiums in an attempt to mock Everton’s number one. It’s a scenario that has left him criminally under-appreciated among the masses.

​But maybe it’s a case of being careful what you wish for. Outside noise is so often followed by rumblings and rumours. Iliman Ndiaye is the latest Everton name to be touted with a transfer, as clubs with deeper pockets, aided by financial rules that contribute to a status quo, circle.

​Pickford has never looked likely to be, or interested in, leaving Everton. Even amid the toughest of times in recent years, he’s been a mainstay. We’re often told that a good goalkeeper is worth 10 points a season, and how the Blues have needed those 10 points. Pickford won’t be touted for Team of the Season contention, but he has all the credit he needs right here.

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