Crucial Morgan save Jordan’s pick of the bunch

JORDAN Pickford has picked the billiant save which earned Sunderland victory over the Premier League champions as his best of last season.

The Washington-born goalkeeper pulled off a crucial stop six minutes into injury time to deny Wes Morgan with the Black Cats 2-1 up at home to Leicester City in December.

Pickford instantly understood the importance of the save, celebrating it like a goal as he pumped his fists towards the home fans.

Looking back at the end of his breakthrough campaign, Pickford chose it as his favourite.

“It wasn’t an unbelievable save, it was just the timing of the game,” he said. “A match-winning save and we thought that win might have got us going.

“I go back to the (Peter) Schmeichel thing: you save it how you have to, any way that you can. Technique goes out the window sometimes.” Pickford will be England’s first-choice goalkeeper at this summer’s European Under-21 Championships in Poland.

After that, he will decide on his future, with a move away from the Stadium of Light unfortunately looking inevitable.

The 23-year-old is a boyhood Black Cats fan, and will be sorry to move away, having only established himself as the club’s No.1 goalkeeper in the second half of 2016.

But even in that time Pickford has shown he belongs in the Premier League, and with debts of £110.4m, he is comfortably the most valuable player Sunderland can sell as they adjust to the huge drop in revenue after being relegated to the Championship.

West Ham United and Arsenal are both thought to be interested in a player the Wearsiders value at around £30m.