Liverpool turned down a call to sign goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in 2015, two years prior to his £30m transfer move to rivals Everton. Currently, Jurgen Klopp and the Reds are in a difficult situation with regards to their shot-stoppers.
Loris Karius had a horror Champions League final against Real Madrid, conceding two goals in an unrealistic manner. He almost became the first-choice at Anfield after Simon Mignolet was stripped of that duty in the middle of last season.
The Reds have targeted Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak and AS Roma’s Allison as possible solutions. But, both the deals could not be done with respect to several reasons surrounding the players and their price tags.
Chris Kirkland has revealed that he had urged Liverpool to sign Jordan Pickford in 2015. The former Reds keeper worked with the player in Preston North End for five years and has said that the club will regret rejecting this move.
After Pickford’s heroic performance against Colombia, Everton fans must be ecstatic. Meanwhile, Liverpool fans will be kicking themselves, wishing they could have had this keeper in their squad.
If we take a look at his attributes, he possesses fabulous shot-stopping skills, which is a primary quality all goalkeepers must have. The 24-year-old, who is currently earning wages in the region of £60,000-a-week at Everton, is adept at coming off his line to smother one-on-one situations. He has the propensity to dominate the box and distribute quickly to set-up counter-attacking moves.
Klopp would have preferred to have a keeper with his attributes in the system and Pickford could have been an excellent choice for the Reds. Right now, however, the German must be in doldrums thinking about the most important position in his team. It remains to be seen if they continue with Karius or sign a new goalkeeper this summer but one thing is certain – Liverpool missed signing a gem in the form of Jordan Pickford.
