Newcastle United to put bid in for Jordan Pickford? | OneFootball

I will just come out and say it, I like Jordan Pickford.

I have no desire to deny those T-Rex wielding jokers their fun but I suspect I may not be the only Newcastle United fan who quietly has a lot of respect for the much maligned Washington keeper.

For many of us who have managed to grow up in the disputed territory of South Tyneside without developing a pathological hatred of Sunderland, he is a local lad made good.

Very good, in fact, considering he now has 70 caps for England.

I’m sure that if the young Jordan Pickford had done a Chris Waddle and morphed from boyhood Sunderland fan into Newcastle player, he would have become a toon legend.

As it is, he is locked in a grim war of attrition with Newcastle United fans whenever we play Everton.

Yes, he’s contributed to the conflict with a few ill-advised gestures of his own, but I don’t think anyone should really hold that against him.

I also like Anthony Gordon.

He appears to be dedicated to his craft and to have his head screwed on.

I was impressed that he took responsibility for taking the penalty on Saturday night, despite all the hoopla surrounding his return to Everton.

There were reasons to be optimistic. After all, he was back on top form, wasn’t he? He confidently put that penalty away against Man City, didn’t he? He just had to follow his magical “process” and the ball was bound to hit the back of the net.

Call me a pessimist but all that positive spin gave me a sinking feeling. Gordon’s confident vibe seemed reminiscent of the amateur golfer who hits one good shot after implementing a tip he read in Golf Monthly and, for a brief moment, believes he has cracked it.

We all know what happened.

Gordon’s penalty was so pathetic that Jordan Pickford almost dived past it in the belief that the shot might at least approach the corner of the net. Having saved with his knees, up popped Pickford, like Tigger on speed, ready to bark at his defence once again.

Then the thought occurred to me.

Everton look hopeless. If they got relegated, maybe we could put in a bid for Jordan Pickford.