By support

20th Sep, 2017 | 12:28pm

Manager: I hope Everton don't play 23-year-old on Wednesday

By Harvey Byrne

Sunderland manager Simon Grayson has given his hopes that Everton don’t play young goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in Wednesday evening’s EFL Cup clash.

The Toffees are currently preparing to host the Black Cats at Goodison Park in the third round of the cup competition which could bring a reunion between Grayson and the 23-year-old stopper after the two previously worked together for a year at Preston.

Pickford is considered by many to be among the best up and coming goalkeepers in England and that was shown as Everton splashed out a mega £25million to sign him from Sunderland in the summer in a deal that could potentiall reach £30million.

However, Grayson has also given his thoughts on coming up against the youngster, stating he would rather his team did not have to face Pickford.

“He is a great kid, fantastic shot saver, good ability, good distribution,” said Grayson, as quoted by the Chronicle.

“I always felt he would be a Premier League player and an England No.1 of the future. He is only going to improve and let’s hope he is not playing against us on Wednesday.”

Both Sunderland and Everton have started their 2017-18 league campaigns in poor form with the Black Cats struggling in 21st after last season’s relegation, while Everton are sat in 18th place in the Premier League after picking up just four points from their first five matches.

Pickford himself was absolved of blame for the north east club’s relegation last season and while he hasn’t been criticised for the Toffees he will be keen to add to his three clean sheets for the club soon.

In other Everton news, the Toffees were part of a scouting mission to watch this Portuguese clash.

We’ve launched a << BREAKING NEWS FEED>> exclusively for your club. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all Everton breaking news.