Aaron Ramsdale has told Sky Sports that he considers Everton ace Jordan Pickford to be a ‘huge stumbling block’ to the Arsenal goalkeeper’s hopes of being England’s number one.
Gareth Southgate has frequently kept faith in Pickford when naming his Three Lions teams over the past five years. The England boss afforded the 28-year-old his international debut in 2017 and has seldom rotated his shot-stopper selection on a consistent basis ever since.
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The past year has seen Pickford sitting on the bench more often than at any previous point in his England career, though. Sam Johnstone, Ramsdale and Nick Pope have each enjoyed chances to prove their worth, while Dean Henderson has been around the fold since 2019.
All five of Southgate’s leading goalkeeper options should be first-choice at their respective clubs in the upcoming term. Ramsdale took over as Arsenal’s number one last September, Pickford has guarded Everton’s net since 2017, and the others have all now moved teams.
Newcastle United have signed Pope from Burnley, Johnstone has joined Crystal Palace in a free transfer from West Brom, and newly-promoted Nottingham Forest loaned Henderson from Manchester United following success in the Championship play-off final last season.
Aaron Ramsdale dubs Jordan Pickford ‘huge stumbling block’ to England No.1 claim
Ramsdale considers Pickford to be his biggest threat to becoming England’s number one at the World Cup in Qatar. But with the likes of Pope, Johnstone and Henderson also set to stake their claim for seats on the plane, the Arsenal star is aware his spot is up for grabs.
He said: “You’re always looking at it but there’s huge stumbling blocks in the way in Jordan Pickford. He’s been amazing for England, so it’ll be interesting to see how we all start the season. It’s not just me and Jordan – there’s Nick Pope, Sam Johnstone, Dean Henderson.
“We’re all going to be playing in the Premier League this year, so it’s not a formality that I’ll be on the plane. It’s not a formality that I might play, so the first few months of the season are huge for all of us.”
Southgate afforded Ramsdale his England debut last November following his bright start to life with Arsenal after leaving Sheffield United. The £30m stopper also featured twice with the Three Lions this June, keeping a clean sheet against Italy before losing 4-0 to Hungary.
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