Everton take up option to keep Begovic

Begovic is not a top keeper, however, and if Pickford is sold, he should not be considered as the starter.

He isn't known as "Bungles Begovic" without good reason. I would rather see one of the younger keepers being given some experience. If he was any good, he would be first choice somewhere…

Reading your post convinces me that we all see different qualities and failings in players, and it strengthens the view that I have held for some time, that there are three groups of fans:

1) eternal optimists;
2) eternal pessimists;
3) realists, who recognise that anything can happen in a game of football, and that 'One Man's meat is another Man's Poison'.

I respect your view and your right to express it but, although you may be correct in your judgment, the first 7 posters see it in a different light.

As it turned out Liverpool offered little to bother our ‘keeper until late in the game so our worries were groundless about Pickford: but not of the ones about biased referees!!

Pat #8, hard to believe we'd go for a kid of 20 as our starting keeper if Picks is sold. But Bazunu is reported to be an immense talent. Didn't he shut out Portugal in WC qualifying?

My main takings from it were that we should not ever consider re-signing the lard mountain that is Lukaku. Also, Everton have got by far the best goalkeeper in England, and in Begovic, we have another vastly superior to the pair on display yesterday.

Pickford would have saved two penalties which Mandy got his hands to, and Alisson finally guessed correctly and got in the way of a very poorly placed shot.

I know we don't discuss other teams here, but yesterday I got some measure of just how good Jordan Pickford actually is.

4) Eternal fools. For a definition, just quote my name.

I'm sure there will be several good keepers on free transfers or for a couple of million that we can bring in.

What we need is to completely review the recruitment strategy, we have overpaid for what we thought was PL quality, readymade, we screwed that model up spectacularly. What do you think Ashworth at Brighton could do with £35m? Viera would dredge the best from the Championship and mould them. Dortmund, Leipzig?

My point is we need to grow a pair and splash on talent and not the finished article. We have a huge coaching team, if they can't work with uncut diamonds then what are we paying them for? Rafa started a change of spending culture (forced hand yes) in pre-season and he did well.

Now, we are likely to have some beans this summer, I hope Kevin is scouring the International market (MLS for example, Mike and Jamie any gems to be had?). Austrian league, Belgium. Alternatively, we adopt the Palace model and buy from the championship. Worrall, Brennan and Knight spring to mind as 3 good signings straight off the bat for a combined £35m sum you mentioned. Pie in the sky of course but you get my point.

I can't think of who would want him on top of what they already have, but potentially, Tottenham or Manchester United?

Controversial given his background, but dare I say Newcastle? Who would probably pay stupid money too.

Secondly, £35M doesn't go very far at all if you spend it in the Premier League. You end up with very expensive average players on high wages. This is particularly the case when none of the players we would really want (Gallagher, Bissouma, Phillips, Raphinha etc) are likely to be interested in a move to Everton this summer. They'll have better offers.

As Steve says #18, £35M can buy the sort of quality we need if we look to reliable lower cost markets such as the Championship and France in particular. Belgium, Netherlands, Scotland, Portugal and MLS too. Lots of talent there.

The point is to hunt out value rather than, as we have been doing, paying the hefty Premier League premium for players who take us backwards rather than forwards.

I think we are all realistic to know which players will be sought after should the worst happen and, even if we are still in the Premier League next season, I still believe we will lose 3 or 4 from the current squad.

We should never forget these guys play football to earn a living and, at the end of the day, for all the badge-kissing and their proclamations of loving whatever club they are at, they will all go where the money is.

I am not saying some players don't have a great affinity with the fans and the club, but to most it's just a job. That's why the days of one-club players has long gone.

Since the introduction of agents, loyalty only goes one way – from the fans to the players – as most agents are always looking to move their clients to a bigger and better deal.

I'm not sure I'd necessarily agree with you on Pickford. What is it they say; "Sell high and buy low"? Not a football adage admittedly but Pickford's value now is possibly as high as it's been in 4 years due to some eye-catching and high profile saves, plus his retention of the England spot.

I could be wrong but it's not inconceivable that his form reverts to that of 2 years ago (when statistically he was one of the worst in the Premier League), he could lose his England spot and we are stuck with a high earner who no-one quite fancies.

I'm definitely not saying that we should categorically flog him (he's been brilliant lately, of course) but, assuming we need to sell some bigger name players to rake in money, then from a business point of view, I'd say that its a good time to sell Pickford and a bad time to sell Calvert-Lewin. Though I appreciate few other Everton fans will see it that way!

From a stats point of view, it's hard as always to quantify but here's two I think are interesting:

Pickford has a save % of 66% which is around 17th in the Premier League and actually down on last season. This could be explained by our defense being poor though and leaving him exposed frequently.

Second stat (which is somewhat mind-boggling) is PSxG (post-shot expected goals). This is basically how many goals is a keeper letting in or saving that they might usually be expected to save when compared to normal xG numbers.

A keeper with a high positive number is doing very well and vice versa. Jose Sa is top of the league at around +9.7 followed by De Gea on+7 and Allison on +4.3. Pickford is at 20th on -0.1 (but sub goalkeepers are included, Begovic at 14th!)

Essentially, these stats suggest that, over the course of the season, Pickford has been a below-average shot-stopper compared to the rest of the Premier League.

Could it be that Pickford's relative shortness means that the saves he makes look very spectacular and cause us to think that he is a better shot-stopper than he really is? I know many abhor stats and trust only their eyes but food for thought.

I'd add Denmark to that list, Robert. There is value to be had if you go to the right places rather than paying a premium of over-valued and often over-rated Premier League players.

Even though it is still a lot of money, just over £50M for Haaland or something north of £100M for Harry Kane. Both good players, but I know where I'd go.

We've been over-pricing our players for decades. Jack Grealish? Is he really a £100M player?