MY ACCOUNT
Jordan Pickford and Aaron Ramsdale are two players assured of a spot in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad on Thursday.
The Everton and Arsenal goalkeepers will be readying themselves to join up with their country for the friendlies with Switzerland and the Ivory Coast next week.
While Pickford, 28, has been Southgate’s No1 for four years now, 23-year-old Ramsdale is providing him with his sternest challenge yet.
As the rising star looks to shine for Arsenal against Liverpool tonight, we assess whether the England boss will stick with the tried and tested or give the younger model a chance?
Ramsdale’s rise
At the start of the season, there was little doubt that Pickford was England’s No1 — and there did not seem to be anyone challenging him.
Arsenal’s signing of Ramsdale for £30million from Sheffield United on the back of two Premier League relegations actually raised eyebrows.
But he has come on leaps and bounds at the Emirates and Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers was full of praise for him following the Foxes’ 2-0 defeat on Sunday.
Rodgers said: “For me, he is the best English goalkeeper at the moment. He is top. His progression since he came to Arsenal, a huge club with a different expectation of how to play football, but he has dealt with that really well.
“He looks like he has grown into the club, he’s playing with a calmness. He was jumping about earlier in the season but now he’s got a real, nice calmness to his game.
“He plays well with his feet, but he makes saves. Having observed and watched the level of his game, he’s the best English goalkeeper at the moment. It’s a huge credit to him, he looks an outstanding goalkeeper.”
Southgate’s stubbornness
It is not as simple as making a change for Southgate though — his loyalty to Pickford is well-documented.
Though the Everton stopper has dropped some clangers for the Toffees, his performances for England have been exemplary.
He was a key part of the sides that reached the World Cup semi-final in 2018 and the Euro 2020 final last year.
Micah Richards said: “Ramsdale definitely needs a chance, but Jordan Pickford has not let Gareth Southgate down. So, it is always a difficult decision to make.
“Yes, we probably should go on form and at the moment, Ramsdale is the one in form, but it is always difficult when we are here talking about and the manager has got trust in a player.
“When a manager has that trust in a player like Southgate has with Pickford, it is very difficult to change it.”
The bread and butter
The main stat people will look at is Ramsdale keeping 12 league clean sheets compared to Pickford’s four — but that would be unfair.
Everton are embroiled in a relegation fight while Arsenal battle for the top four.
Pickford is under pressure far more often than the current No2 with his 3.40 saves per 90 minutes higher than Ramsdale’s 3.04.
Interestingly, Pickford’s only error that led to a shot saw Everton concede, while Ramsdale has twice made blunders leading to a chance but neither have gone in.
Neither of the stoppers excel when it comes to keeper sweeper regains either, with Pickford (0.44 per 90) and Ramsdale (0.43) 13th and 14th best in the top flight respectively.
On the ball
This may be a three-way discussion if Southgate wanted a traditional keeper, but Nick Pope lags behind Pickford and Ramsdale when it comes to using his feet.
England like to build from the back and to do that, they need a keeper comfortable when the ball is passed to him in tight situations.
Pickford and Ramsdale have both shown they are capable of that but their stats show the different styles their clubs play.
The Everton man has played 544 long passes compared to Ramsdale’s 373 — it is why the latter’s passing accuracy is 15% higher.
It also explains why Pickford has created three chances and Ramsdale none.
The future
Picking who will start in November in Qatar is not easy and Southgate will not even know himself.
Having two friendlies in four games at Wembley gives the England boss the chance to start one against Switzerland and another in the Ivory Coast clash.
And the four-game window in June — when England play twice against Hungary and once versus Italy and Germany in the Nations League — may be the perfect time to give Ramsdale a real competitive challenge for the Three Lions.
That is when he can really stake his claim for the No1 spot permanently — and given the way the past six months have gone, you would not bet against the Gunner taking it.
