Frank Lampard has revealed that the ‘mature’ Jordan Pickford will keep the captain's armband in the absence of Seamus Coleman.
The Republic of Ireland full-back remains the club captain, and his leadership qualities shone through on and off the pitch during last season’s relegation fight. But he is currently sidelined with a groin strain, and at 33-years-old, his prominence in the starting lineup is decreasing as Nathan Patterson continues to impress as deputy.
Pickford took on captain’s responsibilities during this summer’s friendlies and, despite praise of a new leader at centre-back in James Tarkowski, Toffees boss Lampard has revealed that his goalkeeper will retain the armband for the start of the upcoming campaign.
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"At the moment it's Jordan Pickford," Lampard told Sky Sports. "Tarkowski has come in and shown himself to be a leader straightaway, but I think if I put an armband or not on James Tarkowski, he's going to be a leader on the pitch and every day on the training ground.
"Jordan Pickford is England's No 1. He's played at an extremely high level for a long time. Sometimes, he's not quite got the credit that he deserves, but he got the credit last year because of his performances and how in-your-face they were.
"I've seen him mature as a player even in the short time I've been here through the confidence in the way he's playing. I've got no problems with Jordan being captain, and that's why he's been captain at times during pre-season. We'll see how that one pans out, but I'm not massively concerned on that point.
"Seamus will always be club captain as long as he is an Everton player. After that, the most important thing is you have other captains in the squad and in the team around Seamus. That's what we're trying to build here."
The Everton and England stopper showed his own leadership qualities on the Goodison turf towards the end of last season, pulling off a string of outstanding performances week after week as his side picked up valuable points. The 28-year-old’s vocal nature between the posts has developed over the last year and he is loved by the majority of fans.
Pickford is expected to walk Everton out for the opening fixture of their 2022/2023 Premier League campaign when they host Chelsea this Saturday. Last season’s edition of this fixture saw the keeper produce one of his finest displays on Merseyside to keep Thomas Tuchel’s side out, ultimately keeping a clean sheet in a crucial 1-0 win.
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