New Deal for Jordan Pickford is Another Friedkin Statement of Intent
Plus your preview of Everton vs. Aston Villa, and Tomas Soucek comments on why a transfer to Everton didn't happen
Everton Contract Extensions Feel Like a New Dawn
For years, Everton lived as a holding club.
We developed talent. We showcased them. Supporters fell in love. And then a bigger name came waving a check, and the cycle reset: the player leaves, Everton pockets the money, the rebuild begins. Predictable. Painful.
That’s why The Friedkin Group’s decision to extend Jarrad Branthwaite’s contract in July was seismic. Branthwaite wasn’t just another prospect—he was coveted by Manchester United and Real Madrid, and Everton’s finances made his departure feel inevitable. Instead, he signed on again.
The extension sent two clear signals:
Everton intend to build around their best players, not sell them.
Transfer gossip no longer dictates the club’s direction.
And now comes the news that Jordan Pickford—already contracted until 2027—is negotiating a new deal that could keep him at Goodison for the rest of his career.
Pickford is more than England’s No. 1. More than one of the best keepers in the world. He’s been Everton’s constant through relegation scraps, chaos, and endless resets. Extending him early isn’t about urgency. It’s about intent. It’s a line in the sand against the old way of doing business.
None of this guarantees success. Pickford is one player, one contract. But alongside Branthwaite’s renewal, it marks a shift: TFG’s Everton is not the same Everton.
This is the change supporters have been waiting for.
Well, one of many.
Soucek on Everton Switch: “I Said No”
Late in the summer window, it seemed certain Everton would reunite David Moyes with his old West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek.
Plenty of supporters weren’t sold. But Moyes knows Soucek. He knows what he can do, and they’ve built a trust that goes beyond tactics.
So it was a surprise when the window closed and Soucek was still a West Ham player. According to the man himself, that’s because he turned Everton down. Speaking to Czech outlet Ceske Noviny:
“There was interest. It was also in the media, it was also felt at the club. But West Ham and I said no, because I feel the strength of West Ham and I feel a stable position there that is recognized. So I look forward to further cooperation at West Ham.”
Everton vs. Aston Villa Preview
Everton’s season started the same way too many have: with disappointment. Leeds away, 1–0, a soft penalty given, the points gone. Same old Everton. New stadium or not.
And then something shifted. Back home at Hill Dickinson, under that new-car-smell glow only a new ground provides, Everton finally remembered how to win. Iliman Ndiaye etched himself into trivia forever with the first goal scored there (after scoring the final goal at Goodison to cap off last season’s incredible turnaround engineered by Moyes). James Garner added the second. Jack Grealish had his fingerprints on both, and suddenly the mood tilted. A follow-up win steadied the ship further. Moyes-ball wasn’t sexy—it never is—but it worked.
Villa arrive in a funk. Three games, no goals, and the look of a side already under strain. Unai Emery’s men are brittle, stretched thin by a summer financial straightjacket.
The bookmakers call it nearly even. Everton are narrow favorites, but Villa remain too talented to dismiss. The reality, though, feels different. Everton are humming. Grealish is conducting the orchestra again after being resigned to playing the wood block for City. Hill Dickinson will be loud, probably hostile, and momentum is suddenly on Everton’s side.
A year ago this would have been farce, a side with no attack trying to scrape enough together to garner one point. Now? Everton can hurt you. And if the match turns into a slog, they can grind too.
Prediction: Everton 2–1