Shay Given on Jordan Pickford's Surprising Transfer Silence

Shay Given has seen enough elite goalkeepers, and enough transfer sagas, to know when something doesn’t add up. This one doesn’t.

Jordan Pickford, England’s long‑serving No 1 and Everton’s bedrock for the best part of a decade, heads into another season with barely a whisper of a move away. No drumbeat of rumours. No summer scramble. Just silence.

To Given, speaking courtesy of BOYLE Sports, that feels almost surreal.

“Jordan Pickford has been at Everton for nearly 10 years now and he's been England number one for most of that time too and he broke the appearance record for England World Cup games. It is strange that we haven't heard of other clubs moving in for him during that time,” he said.

In an era when one big goalkeeping move often triggers a chain reaction across Europe, Pickford has remained firmly rooted at Goodison Park. Clubs change managers, tear up squads, reset projects. The goalkeeper merry-go-round spins. Pickford stays put.

Maybe there’s a simple explanation. Maybe he just likes it that way.

“Maybe he's just really well-settled at Everton,” Given suggested. “We obviously don't know if there have been bids for Jordan over the years but there's usually a sort of goalkeeper merry-go-round some summers, like how we talk about managers moving on.”

Pickford’s longevity can trick the mind. He feels like he has been around forever, a permanent fixture in England squads, a constant presence in the Premier League spotlight. Yet he is only 32.

“Jordan has been in the game for so long you think he must be 34 or 35 but he's only 32,” Given said. “I moved to Manchester City when I was 33 and goalkeepers in general get better with age as well. He's got many years left at the top level but maybe Jordan is happy where he is.”

That’s the crux of the puzzle. If Pickford ever did hint at restlessness, Given is in no doubt about the reaction from the market.

“You'd think Chelsea would be on the phone tomorrow and jump at the chance to sign him if he gave them any encouragement.”

The performances certainly justify that kind of attention. Season after season, Pickford has kept Everton afloat with saves that bend belief as much as they bend his frame. Given still has one in his mind’s eye: St James’ Park, last season, Sandro Tonali letting fly, the ball destined for the top corner until Pickford clawed it over.

“It does surprise me that we don't see any rumours around him because some of the saves he produces for Everton are just phenomenal,” Given said. “I remember him tipping one over the crossbar from Sandro Tonali at St James' Park last season, it was unbelievable but he has that in his locker.”

That is the highlight-reel stuff. What Given really admires, though, is the baseline. The reliability. The version of Pickford that turns up every week, not just on the big nights.

“He's a bit of a 'Steady Eddie', and if you think I'm playing him down by saying that, I'm not. I'm playing him up.

“When you've got a goalkeeper who is that steady, it's a real plus, and he's got a real personality.”

That personality has always divided opinion. The energy, the shouting, the edge. Some see volatility; others see a leader refusing to dim his competitive fire. Given falls firmly into the latter camp.

“Some people say it can spill over at times, but it shows his passion and hunger and desire for the team to do well. It's his will to win, you can't coach that or teach it. It's just who he is, and I don't mind that at all.”

So Pickford stays at Everton. England’s No 1, a World Cup record-holder, a goalkeeper still entering his prime years, anchored to a club that has flirted with danger but leant heavily on his gloves to survive.

The market may stay quiet around him for now. But if the “Steady Eddie” ever decides he wants a different stage, the silence will not last long.