Ancelotti Likens Pickford to Italian Star

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti says England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford will be like Italian star Buffon. The manager says he must stop over-thinking and instead “use his instinct more”.

The 26-year-old goalie was dropped for Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Newcastle. He is likely to feature in Saturday’s Premier League match against Manchester United. But he has retained the support of both Ancelotti and his country’s manager Gareth Southgate. According to Ancelloti, he said: “There’s no doubt he is, and will be, better in the future.”

“He knows what to do tomorrow. His mentality is good, I don’t want to change it. I think sometimes he made mistakes because he thought too much.” “He has to use his instinct more, which is really good,” Ancelotti added. “He made fantastic saves because when he reacts he’s really top. When he has to act, sometimes he makes some mistakes in that situation but he’s still a young goalkeeper with a lot of quality, and there he can improve.”

“I’ve had fantastic goalkeepers, young, like [Italy great Gianluigi] Buffon and others that improved their quality through the mistakes they made in training.” “It will be the same for Jordan because of the quality and also the character, the personality, is there.” “On the pitch, he has to be focused on what he’s doing. He has to know where his quality is.”

Pickford has made five errors this season which has directly led to a goal. He is the joint-most of any top-flight goalkeeper alongside Newcastle’s Martin Dubravka.