Jordan Pickford may be the latest player to play for Newcastle United and Sunderland next season, with Eddie Howe interested in the Magpies sealing a transfer for the Everton ace.
That’s according to talkSPORT, who report the Toffees are ready to listen to offers for the goalkeeper this summer. Frank Lampard is considering letting the England number one go over the off-season, even if he can keep the Goodison Park natives in the Premier League.
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Pickford will push to leave the Merseyside outfit over the summer if the Blues fall into the Championship, as well. He is loath to drop into the second-tier, as was the case when the 28-year-old joined Everton from Sunderland for £25m up to £30m after relegation in 2017.
Tottenham Hotspur are monitoring developments at Goodison Park as they consider a bid to acquire Hugo Lloris’ successor. Newcastle are also interested in Pickford if Everton look to sell the shot-stopper, with Howe eying transfers to potentially replace Martin Dubravka.
Everton falling out of the top-flight will convince Pickford to leave the Toffees to preserve his England status. The 43-cap international is Gareth Southgate’s favoured option ahead of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. But his Black Cats ties could make a Tyneside move unlikely.
Yet players joining both Tyne-Wear rivals Newcastle and Sunderland is becoming a more common sight for Pickford to follow. So, who are some of the men to turn out in red-and-white and black-and-white in their careers that the Everton goalkeeper could soon join?
Shay Given enjoyed lengthy Newcastle career after playing for Sunderland
Shay Given enjoyed a lengthy career with Newcastle between 1997 and 2009 that saw the goalkeeper make 462 appearances. He never featured at a single club more often than the Toon, before completing an £8m move to Manchester City late in the winter 2009 market.
The goalkeeper had joined the Toon after failing to establish himself with Blackburn Rovers after leaving Celtic in 1994. Given’s Ewood Park plight would also see the future Newcastle star play on loan for Sunderland during 1996 as the Black Cats sealed the Division One title.
Long-time Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper ended career at Sunderland
Steve Harper is another long-term Newcastle goalkeeper who also played for Sunderland. The Seaham Red Star product joined the Magpies in 1993 and remained at St James’ Park until 2013. He joined Hull City as a free agent at 38 after the Toon released him that year.
Sunderland later offered Harper one last spell in football in 2016 after six-months out after leaving Hull. The now-Northern Ireland goalkeeping coach stayed at the Stadium of Light until July 2016 when he retired without making a single appearance for the Black Cats.
Newcastle product Lee Clark went to Sunderland and then he went back
Lee Clark emerged from the Newcastle academy to make his senior debut in 1992, and he remained a key figure until the forward left Tyneside for Wearside to play for Sunderland in 1997. The Black Cats paid a club-record £2.5m for Clark after relegation to Division One.
Fulham swooped for Clark in 1999 after his key role in Sunderland’s 105-point promotion-clinching term. Peter Reid knew his time in red was up after Clark wore a t-shirt bearing a derogatory slogan to Sunderland at Newcastle’s FA Cup final against Manchester United.
Clark spent six years with the Cottagers before he returned to Newcastle for the 2005/06 season. The attacker would retire at the end of that term and became assistant manager at St James’ Park. He is now the manager of runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Ittihad.
Jack Colback made Newcastle switch after Sunderland released academy product
Jack Colback made the switch from Sunderland to Newcastle in 2014 after the Black Cats released their academy product. He had risen through the Stadium of Light ranks to make 135 first-team appearances for the Black Cats, more than with any other club in his career.
The midfielder had even scored for Sunderland against Newcastle at St James’ in a 3-0 win in February 2014. He went on to play 102 times for the Toon, but his last was in May 2017 before the first of two loans with Nottingham Forest, who he joined permanently in 2020.
Newcastle gave Chris Waddle his breakthrough before brief Sunderland spell
Newcastle raided non-league side Tow Law Town to sign Chris Waddle in 1980 and spent five years together. The 62-cap England international left the north east for Tottenham in 1985, before winning three top-flight titles with Marseille over his seven years in France.
Sunderland would later sign Waddle after the former Newcastle player spent time with Sheffield Wednesday, Falkirk and Bradford. But he did not stay at Roker Park for long, as Waddle joined Burnley in 1997 following the Black Cats’ relegation to the second-tier.
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