‘He rang me last night’: £30m player shares what Everton boss Benitez has told him

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Jordan Pickford has reacted to Everton’s appointment of Rafa Benitez.

Carlo Ancelotti resigned from his post as Everton boss last month to take the Real Madrid job after just one full season at Goodison Park.

And the Toffees have officially replaced him with Benitez, which hasn’t gone down well with some fans on the blue half of the Merseyside divide due to his Liverpool history.

Pickford is away on international duty with England, who take on Ukraine in the quarter-final of Euro 2020 this weekend.

And the former Sunderland goalkeeper, a £30 million signing by Everton in 2017, has shared the contents of a phone call with Benitez last night.

He told a press conference: “The new manager, his career, the trophies he’s won, the desire to be successful… He rang me last night, said enjoy the tournament, do well and I’ll see you when you get back.”

Resentful

Everton fans have every right to be annoyed but, by the same token, resentment has absolutely no value whatsoever.

Fans will be allowed back inside Goodison Park at some point during the 2021-22 campaign and it’s important that the Spaniard is supported, irrespective of his Liverpool roots.

Yes, he has a rich history on the other side of Merseyside, but now it’s his job to win games for the Toffees and it could be difficult to do that if the supporters drum up a difficult atmosphere for the home players at Goodison Park, or protest the club’s owners.