Pickford absence opens England door for Pope
Hstriker-turned-lawyer happointment
Nick Pope will be given a chance to stake a claim to become England’s first-choice goalkeeper for the European Championship following Jordan Pickford’s abdomen injury.
Pickford will miss the games against Albania, Poland and San Marino this month in England manager Gareth Southgate’s final chance to work with players before the end of the season. West Bromwich Albion’s Sam Johnstone is poised for a first call-up as cover.
Pope has been competing with Pickford for the No1 jersey, but
Southgate has remained loyal to the Everton goalkeeper during periods when his form has dipped, selecting him in every Uefa Nations League match this season. Pickford has been first choice since the 2018 World Cup, where he helped England reach the semi-finals.
The 27-year-old was forced off at the weekend in the first half against Burnley, when he aggravated his injury while diving.
He was assessed by club medical staff before being ruled out of the FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City at the weekend and England’s three World Cup qualifiers.
Manchester United’s Dean Henderson
will be Southgate’s other goalkeeper in the squad he names tomorrow at St George’s Park.
Southgate had been monitoring Robert Sanchez following his breakthrough season for Brighton, but he has chosen to represent Spain and has received his first call-up.
Valencia midfielder Yunus Musah has also turned down England to play for the United States, with Southgate’s squad this month largely picking itself after injuries to a number of key players.
Jordan Henderson, Jadon Sancho, James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Tammy Abraham, Callum Wilson and Danny Ings have all been sidelined in recent weeks.
Southgate has these three qualifiers to work with players and select his squad for the Euros, with home friendlies scheduled against Austria and Romania before the first match of the finals against Croatia on June 13.
has full backing of players’ board
comes as part of major restructure at union
A lawyer who last played in English football as a striker for Grays Athletic 13 years ago has emerged as the shock choice to succeed Gordon Taylor as chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association.
Maheta Molango was not even born when Taylor took charge of the PFA in 1981 but the 38-year-old, who spent four years as chief executive of Real Mallorca, has been recommended by an independent advisory panel.
Taylor promised to leave by the end of the season and Molango’s proposed appointment has already won the unanimous support of the players’ board.
Final ratification is still subject to a vote by the wider PFA membership and, although Molango will arrive largely unknown to the players and fellow football administrators, he is likely to take up his post this summer. It will signify a new era at the PFA following Taylor’s 40-year tenure and his long goodbye after the organisation’s governance was questioned from within by chairman Ben Purkiss. Molango, who was born in Switzerland, played 26 matches for Brighton, Lincoln, Oldham, Wrexham and Grays Athletic between 2004 and 2007 before qualifying as a lawyer in Spain. He then spent four years at Mallorca, where he was sacked last February with the club bottom of La Liga. Molango, however, had been at the helm during two promotions and his “passion and hard work” was said by Mallorca to “have set the standard for the club”. Shortly after leaving, it was reported in Spain that Molango was questioned as part of an investigation into the Albanian agent Fali Ramadani and an alleged moneylaundering scheme. It is understood that he was one of various ex-players or club executives who were questioned as witnesses and no charges were ever brought against him. Molango also began working with Fifa last year as a part-time co-director of their newly created Club Management Program.
Purkiss, Paul Elliott, Gareth Farrelly and Jonathan Walters were among the other leading candidates to succeed Taylor.
The new chief executive will arrive during a period of unprecedented change at the players’ union following an independent review by Sport Resolutions and an ongoing Charity Commission statutory inquiry into the PFA Charity. A players’ board will represent “the supreme governing body of the PFA and the ultimate decision-making authority within the union”. It will comprise elected representatives from the Women’s Super League, all four professional tiers of men’s football and three former players.
It also says that, “as a matter of law”, the proposed new chief executive will need to be elected and then re-elected within five years, subject to the members’ wishes.
A new remuneration committee will be formed. The new chief executive’s pay will be benchmarked and around a quarter of Taylor’s controversial salary. It will also have to be ratified by the players’ board. Taylor received around £2million in salary, bonus and benefits last year.
A PFA statement confirmed that Molango had been recommended and said that the union “will now look to finalise terms and formalise the appointment”.