Pundit shares worrying Everton transfer news as Toffees could lose two England internationals
A former striker has discussed the potential Everton departures of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and centre-back Michael Keane.
Keane is reportedly set to leave the Toffees on loan in the January window, while Pickford’s exit seems less imminent, but there is a chance Manchester United may attempt to seal a winter deal.
Pickford almost single-handedly kept Everton up last season, so Frank Lampard has a mammoth task on his hands to replace England’s number one if the rumours are to be believed.
Keane, however, has struggled to find form under Lampard and has made just one substitute appearance in the Premier League this season.
Even when he was playing regularly, the English defender has never filled the Goodison Park faithful with much confidence. Keane made numerous costly errors last season, contributing to their dire league performance.
Although, he did score Everton’s first goal in their incredible 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace last season, which ultimately guaranteed their Premier League survival.
Other than that though, Evertonians probably wouldn’t be too disappointed if Keane was moved on in January.
Pickford, on the other hand, is arguably Everton’s most important player at the moment.
The 28-year-old has made the most saves of any goalkeeper in the top flight this season and with the Toffees just one point above relegation, you’d think Lampard would be desperate to keep him.
McManus suggests Everton could struggle without English duo
McManus, however, thinks losing the pair could spell bad news for the Toffees.
In an interview with Football Insider, he said: “Well, it looks like Keane is going to leave one way or another.
“Then you have Pickford’s future. You worry about how Everton will line up after January if those deals happen.
“They are in real trouble down there at the bottom, they just aren’t scoring goals and that will be the reason they could go down.
“Do they have the money to invest in January? There is always talk about the money at Everton and whether they actually have any to spend.
“They always seem to so they could go again in January, reinvest after selling. But if you lose two big players like that then it is very hard to replace them in a January window.
“With the new stadium on the way you have to worry for them if those transfers happen.”
While it seems unlikely Lampard will be phased by Keane’s departure with other centre-backs such as Conor Coady, James Tarkowski, Ben Godfrey and Mason Holgate at his disposal, losing Pickford would pose a huge problem.
Saying that, the keeper’s contract is due to end in 2024, so if Pickford has already decided he will be leaving Goodison Park then Everton may be better off selling him sooner rather than later to recoup some transfer funds.
After scoring the second-least amount of goals in the Premier League so far, you could argue that new attackers are more important for the Blues.
Everton have been linked with moves for forward players such as Matheus Cunha and Boulaye Dia in the last few days, but given their past financial issues they may be required to sell one of their big players like Pickford before they can buy.
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