EXCLUSIVE: Ahead of Jordan Pickford's first return to Sunderland, Chris Beesley speaks to the goalkeeper's old PE teacher to get a fascinating insight into the Everton star
On Monday, Jordan Pickford returns to Sunderland for the first time since he became the most expensive goalkeeper in British football in 2017 by joining Everton in a £25m transfer. But his old PE teacher recalls that the England number one used to score goals rather than save them for his school team.
Pickford won his 80th international cap in a 5-0 win in Latvia last month as Thomas Tuchel’s team became the first European nation to qualify for next summer’s World Cup finals. In doing so he extended the sequence for the longest-ever run without conceding a goal by an England keeper, having surpassed Gordon Banks’ 59-year record in the previous game against Wales.
But back when the Everton hero was a pupil under Jim Welch at St Robert of Newminster Catholic School in his home town of Washington, he was a prolific performer in the centre of the park.
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Mr Welch, 71, told the ECHO: “I played him in midfield. You could get away with it in schoolboy football and put anyone in goal as he would have been wasted in goal and he wanted to play out as well.
“It was similar when he first went to Sunderland after school. They’d play him across the back, they must have known what goalkeepers were going to be like in the future and foresaw it.
“He used to love it. He was a hard player, and he could score from 30 yards out as he had a very powerful kick, even at that age.
“You can see from his distribution from goalkeeping, he can kick it far upfield and his direction is good, he can hit passes 50-60 yards to a player. While he enjoyed it, I don’t think he’d have made it as an outfield player.”
Mr Welch laughs when he’s asked whether Pickford has always been a wind-up merchant with the opposition and reveals that while his former student – who last month penned a contract extension to stay at Hill Dickinson Stadium until 2029 – is now a consistent performer, his wild streak almost got the better of him in his final appearance for his school team as a 16-year-old.
He said: “He’s always been like that. He’s calmed down a lot though because when he was younger, he used to tackle knee height when he played for me.
“In fact, in his last game for me, the referee told me that I’d have to take him off otherwise he’d send him off. He still remembers that as I saw him a couple of months ago and we talked about it.
“He’s definitely cut a lot of the mistakes out of his game and has matured. There was a game at St James’ Park (in 2019) when Everton were winning 2-0 but lost 3-2 and the Newcastle crowd were winding him up, but I think that proved a turning point for him and he learned a lot from that one.”
Jordan Pickford's PE teacher Jim Welch displays a photo of the Everton goalkeeper from his school year book with a close-up of his personal entry (inset)
Jordan Pickford's PE teacher Jim Welch displays a photo of the Everton goalkeeper from his school year book with a close-up of his personal entry (inset)
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Sunderland, who won a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge last time out – something Everton haven’t done since the year Pickford, 31, was born – thanks to their dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over Chelsea in stoppage time, go into the fixture six points above a Blues side managed by David Moyes, who also makes his first return to the Stadium of Light since leaving in 2017.
But with the goalkeeper now a hero on both Wearside and Merseyside, Mr Welch, who is a fan of the Black Cats himself, is convinced there’s one move his old protégé will never make.
He said: “I know all of his family. His mother worked with me at the school as a secretary when I was a PE teacher and his grandmother was a secretary too.
“His grandfather worked at the school as a caretaker and odd job man while even his dad has helped us out with jobs at the school as well. They’ve all been there.
“He’s still got a lot of friends up here. When he comes up, he still sees his mates who he’s known for years and he doesn’t forget about them.
“I think it will be a tough game. When Jordan crosses the white line, he’ll want to keep a clean sheet so I think it will be difficult for Sunderland to score and whenever a goal is scored against him, he bangs his fist.
“We’re all delighted to see the way he’s established himself. He’s been amazing.
“Sticking with Everton has been a good thing for him. I think he loves that club as much as he loves Sunderland.
“He was loyal when he was at Sunderland. I’d go as far as saying he wouldn’t touch Newcastle with a barge pole!”