Jordan Pickford to be axed as England No1 as Gareth Southgate is to replace Everton flop with Nick Pope
JORDAN PICKFORD is reportedly set for the axe as England No1 with Nick Pope poised to take over.
The Everton stopper has endured a difficult campaign as the Toffees failed to live up to their pre-season expectation.
Burnley keeper Pope had a fantastic season keeping 15 clean sheets and guiding the Clarets to an impressive 10th-placed finish in the Premier League.
He ended up winning his club's fans' player of the year and players' player of the year awards.
Another player hoping to get the nod for the Nations League games against Iceland and Denmark is Jack Grealish.
Southgate picked the Aston Villa ace for the first time after Marcus Rashford and Harry Winks withdrew from the double header.
The playmaker, 24, switched his allegiance from Ireland to England five years ago but had been repeatedly snubbed by boss Southgate.
In an exclusive interview with SunSport, Grealish said: “I don’t want to be on the outside looking in again. But I know for that to be the case I’ve got to make a good impression.
“It’s been a long time coming but this is something I’ve always wanted to do.
“I thought it was going to happen five years ago when I took the decision to play for England. I’m so pleased it’s finally happened.
“My plan has always been to just get in that England squad for the first time, then make sure I do enough to stay in there.
“The hardest thing is getting your first call-up.
“Once you are in the squad, it’s up to you to make sure you either do enough in the training sessions or games.”