Everton agree £30million fee with Sunderland for keeper Jordan Pickford
EVERTON have agreed a £30million fee for Sunderland keeper Jordan Pickford.
SunSport understands talks between the clubs gathered pace over the last few days, as Everton looked to have pulled off a massive coup by landing the talented keeper ahead of Arsenal.
The move will be seen as real statement of intent from the Merseysiders, with the England under-21 keeper regarded with Stoke's Jack Butland as the future of English goalkeeping.
Relegated Sunderland rejected a bid from Everton last month but the two clubs have struck a deal for the 23-year-old, who could complete the move after the European Under-21 Championships.
The Black Cats have always held firm in their valuation of Pickford, who has progressed through the academy after joining the club aged eight.
Pickford spoke last week about the speculation surrounding his future ahead of the opening group game against Sweden this Friday.
He said: “I have spoken to my agent and told him that I just want to concentrate on the Euros and be the best I can be.
“I’ll see where it takes me, being a Sunderland lad it’s a bit hard to take and it’ll always be hard to take.
“Financially it’s not ideal for the whole club."
Pickford added: "For me, having grown up there, seeing people you’ve known for a long time losing their jobs is not nice.
“But I feel like as a team and staff behind the scenes we did the best we could do and it was just unfortunate that we never got the results and points that we needed.”
Everton's summer shopping list also contains Ajax skipper Davy Klaasen, Malaga striker Sandro Ramirez and Swansea playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson.