Jordan Pickford has rightly come in for a lot of praise recently, but Arsenal Invincible Jens Lehmann has revealed he has a bugbear with the Everton goalkeeper.
It’s been another fine campaign from the England number one.
Everton are in contention for European football, and the contributions of Jordan Pickford have been both important and plentiful.
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He has the highest goals prevented metric in the Premier League so far this season, and has been pulling off some extraordinary saves.
It’s been fantastic to watch, and even Pickford himself has been enjoying himself while making these saves, and it’s not been uncommon to see him express his joy
But not everyone likes when Pickford does this, with Jens Lehmann now questioning the Everton star.
Jens Lehmann questions Jordan Pickford celebrating his saves
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Despite being outstanding for Everton, Jens Lehmann has strangely criticised Pickford for celebrating his saves.
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The host asked on the Clutch 9 Football YouTube channel: “Can I touch quickly on Jordan Pickford. We’ve got Jens here, I bet you never celebrated Jens when you made a save. Do you know what I mean? I have a real thing, the way he celebrates and all that.
Lehmann replied: “Yeah it’s not only him, it’s other keepers. I celebrated at the end of the game. On corners sometimes, keepers make great saves and the next corner, boom, goal, so where is your celebration now?
“Focus on the next ball, it’s about defending it. It’s not just goalkeepers, defenders as well.”
Pickford is regularly seen releasing his emotions after making a great save.
It is something he has long done with Pickford having a big personality, and it’s never really been something that has got him into trouble. If anything, it just shows the passion he has for his craft.
It’s a momentary release, before he becomes fully focused again.
Granted, there was one instance recently, when Everton played against Manchester United at Hill Dickinson Stadium, where Pickford made a save, gave a little celebration when the ball didn’t go out of play and United’s attack continued. But the attack then fizzled out.
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But even then, Pickford was ready for the ball to come back into the box.
If it means Pickford continues to be this good, then he definitely shouldn’t change the way he operates.
It is a rather old school stance from Lehmann, but Pickford ought to take no notice considering how consistently high his level has been for a number of years now.
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