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City Transfer Target Evaluation — Part 1

By Taras Tataryn

Bravo has proven he can't be City's No. 1
Bravo has proven he can't be City's No. 1 /
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Jordan Pickford: Sunderland (England international)

Rating: 8.2/10

Likelihood: 4.4/5

HULL, ENGLAND – MAY 06: Jordan Pickford of Sunderland attempts to punch the ball out during the Premier League match between Hull City and Sunderland at the KCOM Stadium on May 6, 2017 in Hull, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
HULL, ENGLAND – MAY 06: Jordan Pickford of Sunderland attempts to punch the ball out during the Premier League match between Hull City and Sunderland at the KCOM Stadium on May 6, 2017 in Hull, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) /

Evaluation: Pickford is the sole reason that Sunderland had any chance at staying in the top-flight. Unfortunately, his supporting cast has been terrible. It’s amazing early on in the year that Sunderland fans were still considering having Pantimillon start over him.

Funny enough, Sunderland’s first win of the Premier League season came in early November, and it was all because of Pickford. Pundits dubbed his performance as “absolutely brilliant”. In that game, Sunderland barely edged past a strong Bournemouth side, who continually peppered the Black Cats’ goal throughout the game, having had almost 85% possession at times. The rest of the season was similar to this game, in that Pickford really had to put the team on his back.

Like Butland, Pickford loves to come off of his line. Though arguably, in my opinion, Pickford has looked almost better this season in terms of his decisions, agility to come off of his line, and overall goalkeeping. Moreover, he is tremendous at stopping shots. Take a gander at this epic saves compilation. Many of these saves involve him rushing to the attacker to deny the shot.

Pickford has shown some ability to distribute the ball, but in all fairness, we can’t really assess this given that you can’t compare City and Sunderland’s defense. Nonetheless, he has shown a great ability with his long punts and kicks, having been very accurate playing to Anichebe up top or Khazri or whomever it may be on the wing.

Rating Evaluation: Pickford has been crazy good for Sunderland this season. He’s the second youngest of this bunch but probably has the least amount of experience.

Who knows if he will continue to play at this level at another team in the Premier League, or god forbid a Championship side, but at the moment I see him as a top five goalkeeper in the EPL.

Likelihood: With all that being said, Pickford could evolve into a perfect Guardiola player. With Sunderland being officially relegated, I don’t see Pickford staying.

Everton has been linked, but with the influence we have, I see this transfer as the most likely to occur.

Strengths:

  • Size and Physicality (confidence in aerial ability)
  • Lightning-like reflexes
  • Close-range shot stopping

Weaknesses: 

  • Still has more to prove?