The England number one has been central to the survival efforts of the Blues through recent tough years
Jordan Pickford saves a penalty kick from James Maddison during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Everton FC at The King Power Stadium. Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
Jordan Pickford saves a penalty kick from James Maddison during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Everton FC at The King Power Stadium. Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
As the Blues settle into life at the stunning Hill Dickinson Stadium and prepare for an assault on the Premier League with nine signings after deadline day passed last week, it is easy to forget the tortuous journey needed to get to the promising present.
Jordan Pickford was central to the club’s survival through that period - his performances crucial to the club remaining in the top flight - and avoiding a relegation that would have been catastrophic to the wider finances.
As Everton prepare to start formal talks over a new contract for the 31-year-old - discussions the ECHO revealed the keeper is open to - here are some of his most important stops.
Leicester City (A), May 2023
There is an argument to say this is the most important save in Everton’s history. The Blues travelled to the King Power in the final month of a miserable campaign knowing defeat would rip their survival chances from their own control, with Leicester desperate to land a momentum-shifting blow as both sides fought against relegation.
A tough first half - in which Everton were trailing 2-1 and club captain Seamus Coleman was stretchered off with a serious knee injury - threatened to end with a knockout blow as the hosts were awarded a penalty and the chance to open a two goal lead.
Up stepped James Maddison, but Pickford was his equal, saving from the spot and keeping the hopes of Sean Dyche’s side alive at the break. Alex Iwobi later found a leveller, Everton earned a vital point, and a few weeks later the Blues narrowly escaped and the Foxes fell into the Championship.
Chelsea (H), April 2022
Thirteen months earlier, in the first of the two fights that went to the final days of the season, Goodison Park hosted an afternoon that proved pivotal in saving Everton. With relegation starting to look a probability rather than a possibility, Blues organised the first of a series of coach welcomes that would come to define the resilience of the club over the following years.
Blue flares filled the streets surrounding the stadium with smoke as supporters mobbed the home team on its arrival then backed it in the stands. Richarlison’s goal in the opening minutes of the second half sparked his iconic flare celebration and Everton were able to hold on for a much-needed win over the European champions.
It was far from easy, however, and victory would have been lost had it not been for Pickford’s physics-defying stop from Cesar Azpilicueta - a save that went on to be named as the best of the season in the Premier League and one hailed by then boss Frank Lampard as the greatest of the Premier League era.
Crystal Palace (H), May 2022
There are countless examples of better saves but this is another one of huge importance. The boost provided by the win over Chelsea paved the way for another huge three points at Leicester the following weekend.
Then, the survival march stuttered and Everton wasted opportunities to head off a late panic by failing to beat Brentford and Watford, leading to the penultimate game of the campaign, the home tie with Crystal Palace. With a trip to Arsenal on the final day, everything was riding on this match and, at 2-0 down at half-time, hope looked lost.
The comeback that followed will not be forgotten by anyone of a Blue persuasion, whether they followed it from the stands or their home. And while the plaudits went to the goalscorers - Michael Keane, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin - and to Dele for his influential second half, Pickford made an important stop from Jean-Philippe Mateta as the visitors broke on the counter with Everton still trailing 2-1.
Sheffield United (A), September 2023
Before this campaign, Everton’s record at the start of the season had been woeful. Dyche, for instance, did not win a single league game in either of the Augusts in which he oversaw the Blues and a bad start to the 2023/24 season stood on the brink of becoming a disastrous one in the final seconds at Sheffield United at the start of September of that year.
After two horrendous relegation fights in succession, the last thing Everton needed was to kickstart the season with home defeats to Fulham and Wolves and a thrashing at Aston Villa.
With the transfer window ending with the club embroiled in the messy Demarai Gray saga that saw him leave to Saudi Arabia, defeat at the newly-promoted Blades could have sent the club into freefall.
That was avoided due to a stunning double stop by Pickford to deny Oli McBurnie in added-on time. The draw was not a game-changer for the Blues but had that effort gone in, a season that would see the club put up a defiant fight to the points deductions that followed could have gone very differently.
Brighton (H), August 2025
Everton overcame their August curse this season with the win over Brighton. This was a momentous occasion as the club officially opened its new stadium and one everyone associated with the Blues was desperate to go well.
It did, with goals from Iliman Ndiaye and James Garner proving key as new signing Jack Grealish showcased his brilliance in a much-changed Everton attack.
This game could have gone a very different way, however, and Pickford was central to keeping things on track for his side. His save at the feet of Matt O’Riley when James Tarkowski’s pass was intercepted was one of several big moments Brighton missed with the game in the balance.
But it was in the second half that Pickford’s heroics were even more consequential, the keeper saving from Danny Welbeck’s penalty. Moyes later conceded that, had the away side scored, holding on for a win would have been tough. Pickford ensured an historic occasion was a happy one for a club desperate for a change in fortunes.