Shay Given Questions Silence Surrounding Jordan Pickford's Transfer
Shay Given has watched the goalkeeper market spin and churn for two decades. Big fees, big moves, big mistakes. Which is why one thing genuinely puzzles him: the quiet around Jordan Pickford.
Speaking on Pickford’s situation at Everton, the former Republic of Ireland No.1 could not hide his surprise that the England goalkeeper has barely been linked with a serious move away during his peak years.
“Jordan Pickford has been at Everton for nearly 10 years now and he's been England number one for most of that time too and he broke the appearance record for England World Cup games. It is strange that we haven't heard of other clubs moving in for him during that time,” Given said, speaking courtesy of BOYLE Sports.
That’s the core of it. A long‑term England No.1, a World Cup ever‑present, a regular producer of highlight‑reel saves in the Premier League — and yet no constant swirl of speculation, no rolling saga every summer.
Maybe there’s a simple reason.
“Maybe he's just really well-settled at Everton. We obviously don't know if there have been bids for Jordan over the years but there's usually a sort of goalkeeper merry-go-round some summers, like how we talk about managers moving on,” Given noted.
Clubs usually shuffle keepers like chess pieces. One moves, another follows, and suddenly three or four big names are on the move. Pickford, though, has stayed rooted at Goodison Park, a fixed point in a turbulent era for Everton.
Given knows what it means to move late and still thrive. He joined Manchester City at 33. Pickford, he points out, is younger than people think.
“Jordan has been in the game for so long you think he must be 34 or 35 but he's only 32. I moved to Manchester City when I was 33 and goalkeepers in general get better with age as well. He's got many years left at the top level but maybe Jordan is happy where he is. You'd think Chelsea would be on the phone tomorrow and jump at the chance to sign him if he gave them any encouragement.”
That line cuts to the heart of the mystery. Clubs like Chelsea have spent heavily and repeatedly on the position. Yet Given believes that, with the slightest signal from Pickford, a club of that stature would “jump at the chance” to bring him in.
Part of the argument is simple: shot-stopping. The saves are there, season after season, often when Everton are under siege.
“It does surprise me that we don't see any rumours around him because some of the saves he produces for Everton are just phenomenal,” Given said. “I remember him tipping one over the crossbar from Sandro Tonali at St James' Park last season, it was unbelievable but he has that in his locker.”
That moment at St James’ Park stuck with him. A flash of athleticism, timing and nerve that underlined why England managers keep turning to Pickford when tournaments come around.
Yet Given doesn’t just see the spectacular. He values the routine, the reliability, the absence of drama in the basics.
“He's a bit of a 'Steady Eddie', and if you think I'm playing him down by saying that, I'm not. I'm playing him up.
“When you've got a goalkeeper who is that steady, it's a real plus, and he's got a real personality. Some people say it can spill over at times, but it shows his passion and hunger and desire for the team to do well. It's his will to win, you can't coach that or teach it. It's just who he is, and I don't mind that at all.”
In an era obsessed with distribution angles and passing networks, Given’s praise lands on something more old‑fashioned: mentality. Pickford’s edge, his visible intensity, divides opinion outside Everton. Inside a dressing room, that kind of will to win can bind a back four together.
So the paradox remains. A long-serving England No.1, still only 32, proven on the biggest stage, capable of the outrageous and trusted with the ordinary — yet largely untouched by the usual transfer circus.
If the goalkeeper merry-go-round starts up again in a future summer, the question will be whether Jordan Pickford finally steps on, or whether Everton’s “Steady Eddie” chooses to keep anchoring the chaos from the same goalmouth.
