(Football news) The 28-year-old England international was due to enter the last 12 months of his existing deal this summer and was heavily linked with a move to Tottenham, but he has agreed to stay at Goodison Park despite Everton sitting in 16th in the Premier League, just one point above the relegation zone. Pickford was signed for a £30m fee from Sunderland in 2017, and since then he has made 222 appearances for Everton and has established himself as England’s first-choice goalkeeper having won 50 caps for his country. Pickford won the Player of the Season last season after winning the same prize in 2017/18.

Tottenham had hoped that they would pursue Pickford after Everton’s relegation from the Premier League as it would have opened a window for a potential transfer. According to reports earlier this month that Spurs and Chelsea were showing interest in his services ‘especially’ if the Toffees go down. Spurs managing director Fabio Paratici and his Chelsea counterparts were prepared to pay him £200k-a-week.

Everton have dealt Tottenham a major blow over their hopes of Pickford’s transfer in the event of their relegation with his new contract. There is no release clause in his terms which is worth £150k-a-week and can reduce if they go down. Tottenham star Eric Dier has called it ‘incredible’ to agree to a clause to reduce his salary in the event of relegation. Falling into the second-tier would be catastrophic for the finances of Everton football club but still Everton are fully committed towards Pickford’s future.

Pickford told Evertontv: “It’s massive to sign this new contract at such a special club for me. The support I’ve had from everyone at the club since I joined as a 22-year-old has been so important to my family and me. I’m happy here and so are my family. We love it at Everton. Everton is a massive club. The past few seasons have not been what we wanted but we now have a manager who I believe will point us in the right direction and get us up the table.

“It’s definitely my aim to be successful at this club. The fans, the staff and my teammates have been great with me from the moment I joined and I want to be great for them. I just want to keep working hard and performing for Everton. We know we are in a tough place at the moment in the league but I’m eager to help the team improve this season and then aim for success in the future, which will include playing in our new stadium.This contract will take me to more than 10 years at Everton and I want to build a legacy here to put myself up there with the likes of Neville Southall to be one of the best ‘keepers to have played for Everton.”

Everton director of football, Kevin Thelwell, said of his contract: “Jordan is one of the best goalkeepers in world football, so it is a significant boost for us to have a player of his quality and talent commit his long-term future to the club. He has proven to be a first-rate player for Everton and England over many years and his attitude, focus and leadership continues to be exemplary.

 Since signing him in 2017, our chairman has built a strong relationship with Jordan and his representatives, and this played a big and important part in us getting this new contract agreed. I’m sure that every Evertonian will be delighted to hear this news and excited to know that Jordan remains an integral part of our plan to move Everton forward.”

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