Everton’s Jordan Pickford remains one of England’s finest-ever goalkeepers, despite what many of the masses might think.
After all, this is a player who has broken countless records within this current international squad, and seems poised to shatter a few more appearance-related ones before his time with them is up.
His emergence onto the scene, ability to pop up with big saves in big moments, and all-around stability have propped up Gareth Southgate’s entire regime, which has seen them reach the semi-finals and the finals of successive major tournaments.
And, were it not for the poor penalties of his teammates in the 2021 European Champions, he would have been heralded as a hero, with Pickford even breaking a new England record recently on top of the one he did during this competition: going the longest period without conceding, 721 minutes, overtaking Gordon Banks.
So, his opinion on England matters, and he has now weighed in on one of the greatest debates there is.
Jordan Pickford picks England’s greatest-ever player
Speaking to LADbible TV’s YouTube channel, in which he and Luke Shaw were put across a table from one another, they were handed a series of claims by the presenter, Jarrod Bowen.
Ranging from the best hair in the squad to England’s greatest-ever midfielder, they would have to pick whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement made and then debate the topic.
But when one particular one arose, they were stumped: ‘Wayne Rooney is the greatest England player of all time.’
With stars like Sir Geoff Hurst, Sir Bobby Charlton and even teammate Harry Kane all vying for that title, the trio were unsurprisingly hesitant.
In the end, Pickford gave his answer: ‘I’m going to agree [that Wayne Rooney is the best England player of all time]. But not strongly agree, because when he first came onto the scene at 17, 18… he was a joke.
‘2004 wasn’t it? Oh my god, against France. But then he got a few injuries off it.
‘My first [England] squad was [with] Wazza. I didn’t play but I was involved in the squad. Just being around him was just like ‘Wow, I’m with Wayne Rooney’.’
Wayne Rooney remains criminally underrated
Despite gaining this show of approval from Pickford, Rooney remains one of the most underrated England players of all time.
That seems like a ludicrous statement to make for a player who won five Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, three FA Cups and a Champions League, but still he is not quite put on the pedestal he deserves.
Whether it be because he burst onto the scene so young and thus burnt out slightly earlier than others within his era or something else entirely, Rooney is constantly overlooked for the greatest titles despite being a mainstay for one of the most dominant forces in English football history.
He remains the all-time top scorer of Manchester United, one of the world’s biggest clubs, and until recently was England’s all-time top scorer as well.
And that’s without mentioning how selfless he was, willing to play in any number of roles to help out the team because of his well-rounded skillset.
He was tenacious, powerful, lethal, skilful and at times unstoppable, and should be recognised as such, alongside the likes of Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo when discussing Premier League greats.
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