Everton are historically a top team when it comes to producing young talents, like Wayne Rooney, Ross Barkley and Anthony Gordon.
The current crop at the Hill Dickinson Stadium are also showing plenty of promise, with Braiden Graham boasting 17 goals in 24 games so far this season and Demi Akarakiri impressing behind the Irishman in midfield.
George Pickford is also shining, making a strong start to life on loan at Southport with ten saves on his debut in a 5-1 win over Hereford and a clean sheet on his second outing against Buxton.
The Athletic now state that clubs in Germany are keeping an eye on the man from Preston, a detail that should excite Everton fans.
Does David Moyes need to put more trust in Everton’s academy players? 😤
Surely some of these players can do better than Beto and Dwight McNeil! 😡
Everton striker Braiden Graham. Everton manager David Moyes.
Credit: Getty Images/Andrew Kearns – CameraSport/Visionhaus.
Bundesliga clubs know a strong English prospect when they see one amid George Pickford interest
German sides have been sniffing around English academies quite often since 2017 – ever since Borussia Dortmund struck gold with the £7m signing of Jadon Sancho from Manchester City.
The England international was only 17 at the time, and just four summers later, he had sealed a £71m move to Manchester United after finding stardom in Dortmund.
Now, a trend has emerged. If a German club takes a young English talent or even looks at one, it typically means they are likely to have star potential like Sancho – which bodes well for Everton and Pickford.
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Borussia Dortmund are the best at this, taking Jamie Gittens from Manchester City in 2020 for a sum of just €90,000 (£80,000) before selling the winger to Chelsea for £51.5m back in July.
Those at the Signal Iduna Park also took Carney Chukwuemeka and Jobe Bellingham from Chelsea and Sunderland respectively, with the recruitment model paying off as Borussia Dortmund find themselves in a title race against Bayern Munich.
They, of course, also famously pinched Jude Bellingham – aged just 17 at the time – from Birmingham for £25m in July 2020, before sanctioning an £88.5m sale to Real Madrid in June 2023.
Others like Bayer Leverkusen have also explored the English market, signing Jarell Quansah from Liverpool for a sum of £35m.
The mere fact several German clubs tried to sign Pickford before he recently penned a new deal at Everton strongly suggests they believe he could follow Sancho and become a superstar later down the line.
So, if the Toffees can help the 19-year-old fulfil his potential, they could have a highly valuable asset on their hands.
George Pickford might have to leave Everton due to Jordan Pickford
The goalkeeping department is arguably the hardest area for a young talent to break through. As Jordan Pickford has shown with his 346 appearances for Everton, once a goalkeeper secures that starting role, they can often keep it for years, making it hard for others to get a chance.
A similar situation was happening over at rivals Liverpool, as the talented Caoimhin Kelleher was unable to dislodge Alisson Becker, and ultimately had to leave in an £18m move to Brentford last June despite nobody at Anfield really wanting to sell the Irishman.
Pickford is still only 31 years of age and could yet start for Everton for the next five years, so his namesake will have to be patient.
What do you think was Jordan Pickford’s best ever save for Everton? 🤩
There's just SO many to pick from!
If the teenager ends up developing much quicker than expected while on loan at Southport and anywhere else he might be sent to next season, Everton may have to let him go like Liverpool did with Kelleher.
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