Jordan Pickford sends message to potential new Everton owners as Newcastle denied

If Everton are still a club when they move to their spectacular new stadium on the banks of the Mersey next year then they will need to be at his very best.

In an era when players need little encouragement to cash in on an international cap, England’s No.1 keeper has shown admirable loyalty by sticking by the Toffees during one of the most turbulent periods of their storied history.

There would be no shortage of takers should Pickford ever indicate that he’s had enough of scrapping for survival down at the bottom of the table. The 30-year-old is at the peak of his career - and he illustrated his value to Sean Dyche and perspective new owners once again with a penalty save to deny former Goodison hero Anthony Gordon.

The mischievous Mackem would have no doubt taken extra satisfaction from his heroics after getting plenty of grief from travelling Toon Army over his Tyne and Wear roots and past.

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Pickford was called on to intervene after James Tarkowski was caught performing a textbook first-half bodyslam on Sandro Tonali by VAR official Chris Kavanagh.

It was a move that might be legal in , but not the - but Pickford would have taken note of Gordon beating ’s Ederson with a shot to the Brazilian’s right last week and instinct told him his former team-mate might switch sides.

He was right. The raucous Evertonian celebrations might have carried all the way to the waterfront.

Gordon hasn’t been forgiven for leaving for St James’ Park almost two years ago - despite his £45million fee helping the Merseysiders avoid more Profit and Sustainability issues. Perhaps his confession that he grew up supporting might also have something to do with it.

This was Pickford’s night to settle some old scores. He has proved something of a penalty-saving specialist as England emerged victorious from a number of World Cup and Euro shoot-outs under over the past six years. But this was his first success in the Premier League since denying almost 18 months ago.

Only Manchester City, and Liverpool conceded fewer goals than last season as Dyche’s men rode out the disappointment of a two points deductions for PSR failures to keep themselves in the top flight. After losing their opening four games of this campaign after another summer spent struggling to balance the books and looking for a new owner, the possibility that American billionaire Dan Friedkin might be buying a club heading for the Championship was already becoming an unspoken fear amongst supporters.

But the optimism sparked by a draw at and a come-from-behind victory over will have increased another notch after taking a point from a team with genuine ambitions of finishing in the top four.

Dyche will be delighted. He was stripped of defenders Jarrad Branthwaite, Vitali Mykolenko, Nathan Paterson and skipper Seamus Coleman through injury.

That meant midfielder James Garner was asked to quell the threat of Harvey Barnes on one flank while 39-year-old Ashley Young went up against the lightning-quick Jacob Murphy on the opposite side. Both players coped admirably.

Toon boss Eddie Howe will see this as an opportunity squandered. reasserted their pedigree by taking a deserved point off the champions last week. But despite dominating for long periods, every time they found a route beyond the home side’s industrious defenders, they found their least favourite Mackem standing firm.

Everton will also wonder why the officials at Stockley Park failed to advise referee Craig Pawson to take another look at the pitch-side monitor when Dominic Calvert-Lewin was impeded by Dan Burn when he looked set to sweep home a second-half rebound after seeing his first effort saved by .

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