KEEPING IT REAL No chance Jordan will get carried away
THEY say fame and money can change people – but in the case of Everton and England star Jordan Pickford it seems highly unlikely.
Despite top-drawer performances for both club and country over the last 12 months earning him a reputation as one of the best young goalkeepers around, Pickford still has his feet firmly on the ground.
His mum and dad, Susan and Lee, and a childhood spent in Sunderland account for his ordinary outlook – which made him a hero on Twitter in the summer.
It was not just his eye-catching displays in Russia which attracted attention but a string of hilarious old tweets which resurfaced from five and six years ago.
Getting the most laughs was his battle with his parents over Sky as he posted: “Wish the parents would pay for me to have sky in my room, Freeview is soul destroying at this time of night.”
Another said: “Just lost 20 pound in Asda. Had no money to pay for my shopping haha #wounded #embarrassed” while his love of food surfaced with: “Think nandos is on the cards” and “Don’t know what takeaway to get”. Pickford, 24, also tweeted about not having tickets to see one of his favourite bands, The Courteeners, and his battle with teenage spots.
When these were brought up in an interview with the England keeper at Everton’s Finch Farm training ground ahead of today’s clash at Arsenal, he could not help but chuckle.
“I don’t think I’ll be putting tweets out about Nandos or losing 20 quid in the supermarket. Mind you, the Courteeners are playing next month at the Echo Arena in Liverpool!” laughed Pickford.
“All that is part of growing up. I don’t think I’ll be tweeting the same stuff now but I’m still the same person.
“I’m just a normal lad. The roots where I am from keep you grounded and keep you level-headed.
“My mam and dad brought me up well and I am just an ordinary lad from Washington. “I have got Sky in my bedroom now though! I’ve got it in a few rooms. I can laugh at it all. It’s part of growing up, isn’t it? Having a bit of a craic.
“I was new to Twitter then so I didn’t know what the hell I was doing or that it would all be retweeted years later. At least it was all stuff that people can laugh about.”
Happy-go-lucky Pickford became Britain’s most expensive keeper at £25million when he left Sunderland for Goodison in June 2017.
His star has kept on rising but with it comes the pressure to perform. And even though Pickford knows he is just one blunder away from being ridiculed it’s no problem.
“It was my dream to play in the World Cup. Before the tournament I knew that if I got the opportunity to play then I would take it and hopefully I did that,” he added.
“It has changed my life. There is a lot more expectancy on me to perform week in, week out, but that just makes me want to grow and become better and better.
“People will try to put more pressure on me. I’ve got to deal with that – and I will deal with it and become a better person and a better goalkeeper.
“I made a mistake for one of West Ham’s goals last weekend but after that it’s about how you react.
“I was born with a strong mentality so I don’t get nervous or feel pressure on myself. I just want to make sure I do everything right.
“That’s why I hate making mistakes and conceding goals. I try not to beat myself up too much about these things.
“I just held my hands up and said, ‘Sorry lads’. You battle on and you get out of it. But I try not to think about it.” Meanwhile, Pickford wants to emulate Manchester United No.1 David de Gea and become the top keeper on the planet.
The ex-Preston shot-stopper said: “I would say De Gea is probably the best in the world right now. “As a goalkeeper you want to be the best but you can only get better by playing, making saves and putting in man-of-thematch performances.
“After that last-minute save at Watford, Ben Foster said De Gea was the Lionel Messi of goalkeepers.
“Manuel Neuer is as well but he’s been out injured so it opened up for De Gea to get to that status.
“As a keeper you want to reach that level but I can only do that by knuckling down.”