Everton agree £30m deal for Pickford

Butland cost £3m three years ago. Just saying...

I expect him to also go for a couple of more experienced names, which is a smart move. But an exciting couple of days it has been and the next week or so should be interesting.

Appears they know who they want and are going for them.

Hopefully him and Robles can each provide the other with competition. Young and good potential. If he is as good as they say, then either we have the No 1 sorted for 12-15 years.

Also, I know people love to criticise and castigate our players. And people especially love to prove their brilliance as football analysts by saying 'said he was shit' but let's get behind him, not castigate him after every little mistake.

I had my doubts about him – any keeper from relegated teams will cause doubts but, If he does sign, I will be there calling him the best keeper in England.

And those going on about Butland: the lad has been crocked for about a year. Is that worth the risk?

I hope I am wrong but this signing has a very much Richard Wright style outcome all over it. Never convinced about keepers that look good in relegated teams, they look good because they have so much work to do – à la Ben Foster.

Nice to get one over the line early though, hopefully a few more to come in soon...

Personally he wouldn't have been my first pick but gotta back a player once he signs and it looks like it's going that way.

If, of course, we do sign him before we sell. I can't understand how people can state things like "again, we will sell before we buy; typical Everton; nothing has changed, blah blah", with such certainty and without inside knowledge.

Assuming this is really happening, I'm thrilled. Partly because we need a keeper, but mainly because as a statement of intent it's massive!

It's an early move, it's paying top dollar for the best young talent, it's... dare I say... a move that smacks of nil satis nisi optimum.

Nice to see we're buying before selling. Unless of course a fee has been agreed for Lukaku behind the scenes.

£85m on four players could easily be recouped on Barkley, Robles, Cleverley, Deulofeu, and Niasse. More departures to come with Lukaku, McCarthy and Funes Mori points to still more players coming in.

Stand by Goodison Exercise!!!

Personally, I'm over the moon we are at least attempting to address this major weakness. This at least represents a marked change in our transfer dealings though, which we should be grateful for. It seems we have a plan!!!

On the plus side, if the early signs are anything to go by, we will have a lot of new players to be excited about next season.

The window doesn't officially open till 1 July but Clubs can obviously start to put deals in place now.

Good to see a goalkeeper recruited, Joel should be good back up in the Europa and Cup competitions. £18 million up front for Pickford is good business; he is young and has plenty of time to develop.

Pickford is young but showed he is good enough to become someone like Big Nev. The fee really doesn't matter as long as he is the right man.

Next is the central defender and with Funes still a doubt in many eyes then Keane looks like the guy.

Is £30m nuts? Maybe... but what IS important is Everton identified who they wanted early and are making it happen. No issue to throw the cash at a player deemed to be what we need now. Whether he turns out great or gash is another issue completely.

This isn't a Sissoko moment where they had 2 months to get him and it was clear desperation. Hang on – we just spending the Sissoko money?

[Joke... happy chap for this sign of intent!]

'Pickford's moving from Sunderland to Everton'. They moved my parents from Canterbury to Ashford. Excellent service all round.

Other moving companies are available.

:)

Once upon a time we had a dour manager who spent a record £27,000 on an English goalkeeper. He went on to win 3 Division One titles and an FA Cup Winners medal. Could it be a lucky omen?????

I think the keeper is actually not the most pressing position for us to improve, but it is good to see some transfer activity.

At only 6ft 1" he isn't the tallest. I personally would have liked Forster, Foster or Butland, but I am ready to be wrong.

I'm hoping we've signed the next Neville Southall!

I only hope he is as good as the last time we broke transfer records to sign a keeper: Gordon West.

This is far, far, far too much money to spend on a 29-game keeper from a relegated club.

Could we not have tempted Stoke to sell Butland for the sort of money we are talking about here?

Potential's all well and good if we were investing up to, say, £10m. But £30m, however it's structured, is way too much.

For that, we ought to be buying one of the best keepers in Europe.

I'm feeling positive, who knows this could be our season after all, we must try and end our long, painful trophy drought.

Wasn't Simonsen a record for an English keeper when we signed him???

He had played in the top five leagues in England by the time he was 21, he has been on loan with quite a few clubs, Hartlepool, Carlisle, Burton Albion, Bradford City and Preston NE so he has had plenty of experience besides the 30-odd games he has played for Sunderland.

He has represented England at every age level from U16s to U21s and has been called up to the full England squad.

I haven't seen enough of him to know how good he is so will wait and see for myself, one question, is he left-handed, looks that way from photo's, Richard Wright was left-handed, just a warning.

Anyway, it looks like the start of plenty of transfer activity.

Bar one or maybe two bad games (one after returning from an injury lay-off), he had a fantastic season – the question will be whether he can hold his concentration in matches where he is not being peppered with shots.

I think a lot of goalies look better when playing for weak teams because they make a lot of saves. We can't yet know whether he has the Joe Harts about him (silly errors in games without much to do).

You wouldn't get one of the best keepers in Europe for £30M (or whatever down plus whatever add-ons).

I think people are underestimating Pickford. This lad is a seriously good 'keeper and has outstanding, like really outstanding, maybe elite level distribution. Think of those goals we conceded when our 'keepers put defenders in trouble. That's what we're avoiding here.

I reckon the first time you see him send a winger on his way to counter attack at pace, you'll be sold on him.

But he hasn't signed yet, so it's all hypothetical. The RedShite are also looking at him too.

It is a lot to pay for potential but, if he knuckles down and works as hard as Neville Southall did, Jordan Pickford could prove to be the greatest signing of the Koeman era. The signing also puts paid to the theory that we will not spend money until Lukaku is sold.

I think I must have been blinded by the talk about Pickford's distribution, which of course was a feature of Gordon West's game

The only negative for me is the number of goals he has scored and his assists. If he can match or better Tim Howard's contribution, he will be fine.

Last season, Man City splashed out £13.75M for a 33-year-old 'keeper who was rubbish and this year have spent £35M on a 23-year-old 'keeper. We've been linked to a 23-year-old English 'keeper for £30M (in installments) who could be great and might be rubbish!

There's no guarantees in the transfer market. I'm happy that a change is coming and I'm looking forward to see who's holding the shirt before the season starts.

"This [record] will never, ever be broken."

Blackpool Gazette, March 1962.

But he's good and if we don't get him now then someone else will (still might). So well done to all involved, I say.

There is gonna be a lot of change in our team. If we want a bigger squad, and yet heaps are leaving: Kone, Niasse, Cleverley, probably Lukaku and Barkley, one of the centre-backs. Jeez, I reckon it could be almost one a week till September 1!!

In my head, I had Butland's transfer to Stoke down as £12 million, but read tonight it was £3.5 million. But at the time of his transfer he was effectively 3rd choice there.

I also remember at the time thinking wow! That's way beyond our budget. Now we are looking at paying £18 million for a young keeper. Might not be fast enough for everyone's liking, but the times are a changing!

We just need Keane and/or Gibson, Sigurdsson, another two strikers and two full backs and we're set for a decent season.

I hope we can talk Robles into staying and fighting for the Number One slot as that will be crucial to Pickford's development.

I must say, I have reservations about whether he justifies the price tag, but better analyzers of goalies than I rate him very highly, so I will trust their judgement.

Let's try and complete Sandro quickly and then we can focus on Klaassen. Before waiting to see what happens with Barkley and Lukaku. Or are these rush of transfers designed to soften the blow when Lukaku leaves?

A goal-keeper these days needs to be 6'-3" plus. Sorry – not a good choice.

That should put to rest of anyone's doubts about the level of the club's commitment to cracking the top 4.

I saw him play a couple of years ago and he was head and shoulders above other goalies of his age, and better than anything we had even then. I have no doubt he will serve us well for many a year and will become a future regular at international level.

Now we need a decent centre-back!!

There was a sentiment in the rumor thread about it being easier to look like a good 'keeper in a crap side and I'm afraid I can't shake that for now. Hopefully his early performances (should he join us) with the club put that thought to rest.

Pickford's on the small side for a keeper and he's not commanding on high balls.

More of the same please.

COYB

Good thing is, it puts to bed talk of Hart joining us, which is great!

Personally I'd of gone for Hart, as he's England's current Number 1 and would he cheaper than both Pickford and Butland. Actually, I think Robles could be better than the lot of them.

Relief to see us actually start to make our move!!

Gylfi will be next!!!

One thing I'm not concerned about is Sunderland's relegation. I saw most of the goals they gave up this year, and only one was clearly Pickford's fault, very early in the season. For the number of shots he faced, he made amazingly few errors.

I think what sets a top goalie apart from the rest is one that commands his six-yard area, comes out catches the ball to relieve pressure on their defence, good distribution of the ball and most importantly, makes less errors than most.

I just hope Pickford has most of the above attributes and hasn't been signed just for his shot-stopping ability that he showed last season.

I just hope we can sign a decent centre-back and a playmaker (please Klaassen)!

Not sure how much qualifies but the Tom Pepper Echo (see Rumour Mill) reported that Everton had offered £8M but would not overpay, stating Sunderland had priced him at £30M.

As you say, time will tell.

We now need some imposing centre-halves and some creativity and goals.

Whether Pickford will fall into the above, only time will tell, but it's one of the key areas for me and about time we brought a goalkeeper in.

More than happy we have filled this area; now onto the rest of the rebuilding.

And let go of:
Stekelenburg or Robles (sadly, I think it will be Robles)
McCarthy (reluctantly)
Niasse
McGeady
Lukaku (reluctantly)
Barkley (reluctantly)

And promote:
Kenny (until Coleman returns)
Dowell
Holgate (as centre-back)
Galloway (as backup left-back to Baines)

And get back from injury:
Bolasie
Besic
Funes Mori

And continue the development of:
Davies
Lookman
Calvert-Lewin

And build on the experience of:
Schneiderlin
Gueye
Baines
Jagielka
Williams
Mirallas
Barry (farewell season)

And last chance saloon to:
Deulofeu,

(Whew!)

We could have a fun season ahead.

I reckon that Everton and Chelsea have a stone-walled agreement not to spill the deal before we have secured at least most of our prime targets, in fact, I reckon we even chipped on the price (and possibly even saved money in the process) to keep other clubs from being greedy when we roll up to buy!

I think this will prove to be an excellent signing, and a bargain too. He is already quality, has has scope and attitude to be anything he wants.

Mackems saying they're gutted to lose him but, as it was inevitable he'd leave, they're glad he's going to Everton.

He probably will make mistakes but all keepers do; it's the number of mistakes that makes the difference between the best and the rest. I hope we give him support when needed.

Even if we have all three of the current deals sewn up this week, we have no idea if the money earmarked for them has not been released due to a deal that has already been concluded bar the announcement.

Now I would be impressed if we buy lots of players and don't sell Lukaku or Barkley!

Everyone likes to say we've spent £30m. The journalists, cause it makes a better headline. Sunderland, cause it excuses them losing their best player. Us, because it indicates ambition shown by the board.

Anyway. I'm warming to the whole thing after watching some clips. This one demonstrates his shot-stopping ability:

Apparently the Dutch press are reporting that EFC have £100m to spend and Koeman is driving the recruitment program.

Also they reckon Klaassen is definitely on we just have to agree the fee.

Must admit TWebbers are funny buggers, first they moan that we don't spend any money then it's too much money.

Not coming out of my pocket so I don't really give a flying one but I've always believed that you should break the bank for a goalkeeper as has already been pointed out no team has won anything without a brilliant 'keeper.

Robles did improve last season once he was exposed to professional coaching, after several seasons with the previous coaching staff. I'd prefer he and Pickford fight it out, rather than Robles leave and Stekelenburg stay. Stek's foot quickness makes it look like his boots are made of lead.

I've now seen a few clips on YouTube and saw comments from Sunderland fans and now I haven't been this excited about a new 'keeper since we bought Richard Wright which was exciting at the time, but in retrospect he had been great at Ipswich and just hadn't cut it at Arsenal. Pickford hopefully is still on the up. He's got Premier League experience and he could be very very good indeed

Agree with others that a solid 'keeper is essential and one of the big differences between the 70s and 80s was the match winning presence of Big Nev – you just knew he was hard to beat.

As for the money... well, I do care how we spend it because what we spend here will limit our spending elsewhere but, as we found last summer, it's better to move aggressively and early in the window to show intent and build momentum (ie, exactly what we failed to do last summer). If he turns out well, the fee will be forgotten.

A much better bet than Hart and much lower wage demands (I imagine).

The big positive is he has age on his side, has not been injury plagued and can only get better.

Maybe he is one of the best in Europe potentially. Maybe he is England's De Gea. Maybe not at all. I don't care... we at least are trying to move forward!

I have been impressed by Lookman since his arrival and he could be our new 'No 10' . He got stick on the Live Forum, but doesn't everyone, for being too small, which may be true. The other side is he has the skills we need and I really hope Ross stays.

As for the fee, we are now in that rarified atmosphere towards the top of Premier League where goalkeepers cost upwards of £20M, defenders and midfielders £30M+ and a decent striker £40M+.

Personally, I think it is mad but, when Man Utd were supposedly paying a goal bonus of £200k for Ibrahimavic, this is the world we need to live in now if we want to compete with the best.

If Rom were to stay, and the Real Ross Barkley, then I really sense where Koeman has been coming from, with goals all through the team and where we could be going. I would also look out for a resurgent Garbutt, (too much talent to hide for ever), Walsh (junior), and I am wondering who is going to be the unearthed gem which Walsh (senior) will come up with.

Also, Funes Mori for me is a conundrum. The Argies just love him. Captain material for them and has great natural ability on the left side of a back three. Would a class defender alongside him mean he could really step up in a blue shirt?

Which ever way you cut it, that looks one hell of a good squad with dare I say it 'top 4 potential...? COYB

www.premierleague.com/players/4640/Jordan-Pickford/stats?se=-1

www.premierleague.com/players/4634/Jack-Butland/stats

Reading these I know which two keepers I'd want to see at Goodison, Pickford isn't one of them.

It looks like Pickford, Keane, Klaassen and Sandro are the players we want, and they're be additional signings, if and when Rom and Barkley go. I hope we get an update on Sandro soon. I don't know what the typical duration is for talks when a player joins a club but I would have hoped to have heard something by now. I think Sandro will be the biggest coup out of the four aforementioned players.

I would rather they had put £30M towards a new centre-half or striker personally. A new keeper is nice but for me when you look at the squad it wouldn't be my first priority to spend money on.

The initial reports I read were that we were paying £25m and the rest is add-ons. If you're saying the initial payment could be £15m, that sounds a lot better deal in case the lad becomes the next Steve Simonsen or Richard Wright. For the record, I think he'll be a much better keeper than those two expensive flops.

I hope his back is better given the times he bent over to pick the ball up out of the net last season. I acknowledge O'shea and Kone were rubbish in front of him.

Gutted its not Butland, the nearest thing I've ever to seen to the legend that is Neville Southall. Good luck to him, we need him to be a sucess given the dosh involved.

Essentially, the Premier League rules (separate to FFP) state that a club can only increase it's wage bill by £7m a year plus whatever profit the club made from commercial revenue. It's basically designed to stop teams using their share of the TV money to hugely inflate their wage bills.

Commercial revenue includes player sales, and it is this which is relevant to Everton. We have limited profit from sponsorship merchandise etc compared to the big boys, but selling Ross Barkley would free up whatever fee we can get to be spent on wages.

So in this sense, we do have to 'sell before we buy', not because the money isn't there (TV Rights alone tell us it is) but that the Premier League regulations won't allow us to do what Man City did years ago.

https://audioboom.com/posts/5998710-everton-business-matters-episode-3

It's clear in the deal that there are add-ons. The money simply demonstrates we have it.

There might well be a high turnover of players in the next year or so and some badly burnt fingers along the way. But the market we are trying to break into has that level of risk attached to it.

As for the player himself, he has much to prove, a quality we require as hunger often begats money. My impression is he has good distribution, and is a reasonable getter of aerial balls. His shot-stopping is a touch inflated because of his team's lamentable season.

But he is better than what we have. And that's typical of the targets we look like landing: better than what we have and room to improve.

If we retain Rom and get someone truly huge then I might raise an eyebrow!

Anyone know if the lad has ever had a spell on the bins? Now that would be the stuff of dreams.

Butland is great, but has had 3 major surgeries on his ankle in the last year or so.

Robles is a liability, regardless of what those stats suggest.

Pickford reminds me of Butland, in attitude and maturity. He had a real baptism of fire, and I really think he will push on to be top quality. His saves per game stats alone are way ahead of everyone else, with a lot of worldies.

There is a limited amount of top keepers out there, and Stoke don't need to sell.

To the naysayers and doubters – I predict that you'll be eating your words next season. Pickford has really impressed me this season and in behind a shockingly bad defence. He's young so his inexperience occasionally shows, but that will change.

I wonder if they have a couple of gems lined up that Walsh may have spotted. We need a big squad to compete in the Europa and possibly do a Man Utd so I don't think there will be a significant exodus of players. Could be wrong though.

What about that Swiss kid we loaned out?

It seems like we didn't balk too much at the fee either – a fee that is somewhat lessened when you recall that they gave us £7.5 million for Gibson and Oviedo. So realistically it's £15 million, those two and a load of add-ons which I'd imagine would see Jordan Pickford here for a long and successful spell should they be activated.

Good luck, Jordan, it's time we had another stand-out keeper. It's been a while since Big Nev or Nigel Martyn. Write a legacy, Jordan lad.

I'm hoping we sign a dominant centre back too to help this boy out.

Very nearly burnt me chips reading this thread!

Welcome Jordan.

He certainly got plenty of saving practice last season, also at picking the ball out of the net too. Not convinced, I have to say.

For those wanting Forster, speak to Southampton fans to see what they make of him.

It's a shame we are not adding to that core of young players with the likes of Pickford... but at least we still have Kenny and Davies.

Nev was a one off – and as I said in my post, forwards are much taller than they were in Big Nev's time, which is why I stated, a shade over 6 feet is not tall enough.

I reckon some may expect "same old", others will see pot of gold end of rainbow. Probably closer to the pot of gold, I reckon, which may get us close or just in top 4.

Citteh signed Ederson from Benfica for £35m – also 23 and the 2nd most expensive keeper ever.

I agree that 'keeper isn't our priority, but given Sunderland's relegation – probably the one we needed to get over the line first.

I really liked Robles, but I think his three strikes were: Kane, Origi and that penalty. I would imagine he ends up back in Spain, with Stekelenburg staying. However, it is a World Cup year so maybe it will be him to make way..

The old rule of ensuring top quality through the spine of the team almost always pays. This is a good move for us, I believe.

However, I think that we have a couple of far more astute businessmen involved with the club nowadays and will be extremely surprised if conditional contracts have not already been exchanged between both clubs and the player.

The conditions will be, amongst others:-

1. subject to a satisfactory medical examination;

2. subject to a successful registration.

The thing is, when people say that the transfer window doesn't open until July 1st, that relates to the ability of players being moved between one club and another to have their registrations for their new club ratified and the registration with their old club cancelled.

However, as I said above, I will be amazed if conditional contracts are not in place before an announcement such as today's is made.

It will only remain, after the 1st July for the already existing contracts to be ratified by EPL/UEFA/FIFA etc.

Jordan Pickford played behind a truly awful defence but, to me, he kept his confidence, his head up, and his composure. Saves are saves.

Welcome to the People's Club, Jordan, long may you reign as our No 1 'keeper.

Of course, Butland has lost a year to injury, and that may be telling. Do we know if he has – or ever will – fully recovered from that injury?

Here is Pickford's full career details:

Link

Here is Butland's:

Link

Although pretty much dead on 185cm - 6 feet tall - Pickford does seem 'short' for a keeper these days. Fully 10cm and more shorter than the likes of Butland and Hart.

Maybe he makes up for that with agility and speed. He certainly appears to have a good stretch and wing span when keeping.

Totally agree. A lot of young men, with no experience, would have crumbled under those circumstances. The spectre of relegation adds massive pressure, and he was left exposed by a piss-poor team.

He stood up to the pressure, and made a plethora of great saves – yet people are somehow putting this down as a negative!

It seems he was universally loved amongst the Mackems – could be a bargain. Noticed quite a few Gooners lamenting the fact that they didn't sign him as a replacement for Cech.

Welcome Jordan.

Hopefully he'll be good from day one and win many trophies with us.

Are you saying that Joe Hart and Tom Heaton are better? No fucking chance!

Pickford is off to Euro 2017 to gain some big tournament experience, which will stand him in good stead when he inevitably grabs the No 1 jersey in the senior squad.

Certainly a statement of intent from the club and hopefully solves the 'keeper conundrum for a few years. Also good he's English so no issues with communication.

If we can get Sandro and Klaassen in, that's 3 young very decent players added to the squad, all with top flight experience. Season already looking up.

Give Koeman et al some credibility and a chance to prove himself. Don't judge players before they have had the opportunity to prove themselves. Who else would we attract with his potential given no Champions League?

Certainly looks a confident and competitive young man – welcome to paradise, Jordan. Good luck.

It is a lot of money, and I did think the £30M was a hefty price a few weeks ago. If the people who are paying consider it good value, who am I to judge?

Not for one minute am I putting Pickford in the same bracket of Shilton, but instead of dithering, we have gone all out for a number one goalkeeper, so if we get this over the line, time will tell if it was right or wrong, for me I think he will be a good signing.

Have I got this wrong? Or has it always been this way and I've only just noticed?

Nigel (#156), Good point. I thought the same watching Heaton tonight, two decent stops but they failed to put the ball out of harm's way. Great goalkeepers would be unhappy with themselves about that.

A lot of Lukaku's eggs are going into that basket.

Give the lad a chance. A big move by the club and shows our intention.

Pickford seems to delay committing to saves that split-second later than most, once he sees where the shot is actually going (rather than guessing earlier). This requires outstanding reflexes, (which is one of his strengths) and allows him to pull of these world class saves.

I'm far from an expert on goalkeeping, and may be talking shite here. He just seems to stay standing that little bit longer than most. Top strikers will try to commit the keeper, thus allowing for an easier finish.

i Can't wait to see him in action for us.

He was dodgy against us at Goodison but I'm willing to give the guy a chance. Welcome aboard!!!

An interesting perspective.

As long as they're not charging me extra to get in, I don't care how much he costs.

I wonder if the six players Jim white means are:

Pickford
Klaasen
Sigurdsson
Sandro
Keane
Rooney

Also refers to Moyes as "the epitome of dour Caledonia"! Lmao

Two options to him being 2" too short to be any good: longer studs or horse shit in his boots.

I know what you mean though.

I'd like to think they're right. Hart seems to be on a downward spiral, Heaton is unlikely to stake a permanent claim now at 31. His only serious competition is Butland.

I don't get why people complain about high fees, and then complain about low fees... and then complain about us not signing the right players... then complain about the colour of the sky.

The other players we're coveting all represent a powerful spine. No complaints from me.

But from where you're coming from, there seems to be a plentiful supply of bull-shit.

The final thing he does well is not spill the ball. In this he reminds me of Howard who, for all of his imagined faults and weaknesses, as well as his few real ones, rarely spilled a ball into the opposing players' paths.

Pickford will not come for every cross, so I can just imagine the experts who think that is the end all and be all of the position slagging him. I hope Joel Robles likes riding the bench next season.

I reckon so, and a big hole plugged? Welcome to Everton!

Unprofessional. Should have been signed already.

So I did a bit of research . Peter Shilton, Ray Clemence (I know) and perhaps the best goalkeeper I have ever seen, Gordon Banks, we're all the same height or shorter than our new goalie. So if your good enough your big enough (especially if you have got a big heart).

I hope Jordan Pickford turns out as good as my one of those three.

Fees have changed in the last 12 months or so, which makes £30M, including add-ons, the new £15M, including add-ons.

For those who remember the change-over from the old money, we had 'new pence' for a bit, then we all got used to it... so get used to it.

Obviously unlikely to dominate a crowded 6-yard box, but if he has composure / judgement to go along with his touted distribution ability, then the positives should outweigh the negative.

But don't worry about FFP. I read the following paragraph with interest, in The Independant, regarding AC Milan and their spending spree (no mention of Deulofeu so it looks like he's returning):

"Another concession from UEFA regards the relaxation of FFP two years ago, which allows clubs a period of accelerated spending as long as they present an affordable business plan. Last week, it emerged UEFA want clarification from Milan on a couple of points by October before signing off on it. Rather than slam their foot on the brakes, Milan are pushing ahead regardless, confident that their projections are right and not unrealistic. And besides, they have to make the Champions League next year. Serious questions remain but for now at least, enthusiasm is building and with it the hope that Milan are back."

So let Moshiri do the business plan (not Kenwright or his mate) and we should be able to spend whatever we want.

The money is irrelevant really. What's the point of all this extra cash coming into the game unless it is invested on playing staff?

The major risk with this, is that the lad still has to be categorised as 'unproven'. I think he only broke into the Sunderland side late the season before the one that's just ended. I also think he's a bit on the short side for a modern goalkeeper.

On the flip side, he appears immensely agile and quick around the 6-yard box, and his ground distribution is a very strong point.

On balance, certainly one of the key positions we needed to fill, and one of the best available to fill it. Tick, move on.

You lot sound like my wife!

I'd love this one to happen... But it hasn't yet.

And it is Everton so it wouldn't totally surprise me if it all fell apart or we get the "fee hasn't been agreed yet so the reports are false" statement sometime later today.

£30m for Jordan Pickford doesn’t seem so bad when you remember it’s what Spurs paid for Moussa Sissoko, and Pickford is a better midfielder.

I wonder if we'd have been able to attract some better players with him at the club?

On Pickford, I haven't seen much of him and my only worry is that he is a stats signing? We seem mad on stats since Walsh came in, I just hope there is a shrewdness in there too.

I may be wrong here but I don't remember hearing much fuss over him apart from us being linked with him. Sunderland were battered with shot after shot and he was bound to make more saves than most keepers.

He looks agile which is important and although I don't know much about him I am looking forward to see him play for us. The money I couldn't give a toss about. It doesn't affect my savings... and all players, especially young are a big rip off.

maybe you worry he might be a 'stats' signing because you focus on stats being mentioned? Could it not be that Walsh actually watched the lad play?

Stats just happen to back up what he saw, for all we know Walsh never even looked at the stats.

I never checked Pickford's stats because I couldn't care much less about stats, I know what I saw whenever I watched Sunderland play and I was impresses.

Pickford has been getting rave reviews in the media virtually the whole season - anyone who followed the Premier League (even if only though the MotD highlights) will have been aware of him.

Southall: I think if we sign Pickford we have a bargain What price saving 12 points a season? Potential to go all the way to world level.

Shilton: For someone like Jordan, who is young and has great potential, it does not seem a great fee. In the big scheme of things it is not a lot of money, considering how important the goalkeeping position is.

It is second to a striker who scores 20 goals a season. You cannot have a really good side without a good goalkeeper.

These boys know a thing or two about 'keeping – both reckon it's a bargain.

Financial 'Unfair' Play restricts us to spending what revenue we bring in, so we have been quite clever with this signing. It means we have technically spent £18m, not the full £30m at this stage. Just means it takes off future funds when fee stages are activated.

Shilton, Southall and pretty much anyone else with any worthwhile opinion has said 'great signing'. Welcome to Goodison Park, Jordan, and you may just earn your wages, young man, after looking at the first 5 fixtures of the new season!

Christopher (#199), Shilton doesn't even acknowledge he knows anything about Pickford apart from saying he is 23 with Potential. That couldn't have been more obvious really.

I don't know his stats I just know he got battered with shots and came out well. Tom Heaton did the same at Old Trafford and got rave reviews but nobody wants him.

I will be watching him like every signing with an open mind until I know his game.

Kenwright and Elstone want you to think that because it buys them some time but we haven't actually signed him and I'm fully expecting another club to sign the player.

Real are keeping close tabs on De Gea, so what's to stop Man Utd from making a bid? I know the dark lords across the park rate him highly too and that they have been linked; though I believe they want Hart.

If he signs, then I'll be saying "Welcome" and all that.

They need to know the type of personality, will it fit into the culture of the club. Also (contradicting myself) watch Moneyball if you want to see the power of stats alone and their impact in sport. They don't lie over time!

Carlos Bacca, M'Baye Niang and Gianluca Lapadula from AC and Ever Banega, Marcelo Brozovic and Jeison Murillo from Inter, they're reporting.

Bloody hell.

Anyway, it was a glowing report and they were impressed with him and thought that he could make a step up.

Meanwhile, the similarly priced, and much older, Joe Hart was criticised for deficiencies in his game. Apparently injury or a mental issue has led to Hart preferring to dive one way, meaning he lines up badly to try to force the shot to that side; if they go to his defective side, he cannot get down for the low saves to make what should be a routine save.

Whether this is gash or not, I don't know.

Some reports are saying he's meeting up with Juventus too. Who knows for sure but the encouraging thing for me is that Walsh seems very visible and seems to be leading the recruitment process hopefully.

He met Sandro on Sunday too.

"Kenwright and Elstone want you to think that because it buys them some time but we haven't actually signed him."

Oh to be an insider!

Who checked Schneiderlin's injury record? He missed tons of games at Man Utd through injury and has already missed near half his possible games here.

So, without sounding arrogant, mate, I don't fall for the expert theory. Most of it is friendly fire to get the giddy fans excited and full of belief.

Who signed Stekelenburg? A background check on him told me he couldn't hack the Premier League and was shipped off to Fulham, to get dropped there.

"That one was Koeman, no it was Walsh." – well, one of them is stupid then aren't they?

See my point, mate ? Anyone can get one wrong.

I imagine:

Pickford
Keane, Murillo, Smalling
Brozovic, Banega
Sigurdsson, Klaasen, Rooney
Sandro, Niang, Lapadula, Traore
Bacca, Zapata, Batshuayi

Sure there are plenty of others as well. From that list, I'd probably opt for Pickford, Smalling, Banega, Sigurdsson, Sandro and Batshuayi.

Pickford
Coleman Keane Smalling Baines
Schneiderlin Gueye Banega
Klaassen
Bacca Sandro

Then imagine Niang, Davies, Williams, Robles, Mirallas, Calvert-Lewin, Funes Mori all on the bench.

That's not even including McCarthy, Besic, Jagielka, Martina, Kenny, Holgate, Barry, Bolasie, Lookman and the other Milan based players we are linked with.

Sorry guys, I'm getting a wee bit ahead of myself but it seems we mean business this time.

We'd piss the League with that lot... playing 16 players..

He's big, strong, fast and can read the game pretty well. He's been around for a while but at 27 is just coming to his peak.

I reckon if he was our first choice centre-back he'd do a pretty good job. Maybe Keane would make more sense but I do think Smalling on form is one of the better centre-backs in the country, though admittedly he's been patchy when in and out of the team at Man Utd.

But I know what you mean. He can look hesitant. Rumours seem to point more towards Keane anyway but I guess we'll see...

Although, given the other positions needed to be filled, might Ronald Koeman decide to give Jags one more season or Funes Mori one more chance, with the likes of Holgate, Galloway, Browning and Pennington able to fill in potentially?

Big Nev says it as it is and if we were overpaying, or he wasn't good enough, you can Guarentee Nev would say so, shame we cannot give big Nev some role at Goodison.

You do realise that no-one else has signed him either?

But thanks for the Moyesian reminder that despite it being quite sunny today that it could theoretically piss down until the end of the forthcoming season.

Let's stop being the Eyeores of the Premier League, can we?

Being bloody miserable hasn't inspired us to any silverware at first team level since 1995, so maybe a shift in thinking is overdue.

Perhaps these players do not sign for us because we display an attitude that is utterly, abjectly miserable?

Other clubs (tiny ones that couldn't fill Billy's Boyz Pen) at least enjoy having a go.