Jordan Pickford's World Cup Performance and Everton's Summer Plans

Jordan Pickford has started his World Cup exactly how Everton would want – winning, busy, and right in the thick of it.

The Everton goalkeeper helped Thomas Tuchel’s England side open their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a 4-2 victory over Croatia, a chaotic, open game that asked questions of the defence and of Pickford’s distribution. England scored four, conceded twice, and still left the feeling there is plenty more to come.

Pickford’s afternoon did not pass quietly. Tuchel appeared to clash with his No.1 on the touchline over playing out from the back, a flashpoint that underlined both the manager’s strict demands in possession and Pickford’s strong personality. It was brief, but telling: England want to build from deep, and the Everton keeper will be central to that plan, for better or worse, as the tournament unfolds.

Pre-season on the road: England, Scotland, Germany

Back on the club front, Everton have mapped out a summer that will take them across three countries.

The club have confirmed further fixtures in their 2026 pre-season schedule, with Sean Dyche’s side set to play in England, Scotland and Germany. It is a tour designed to sharpen fitness, test new combinations and give supporters scattered across the UK and Europe a rare close-up of the squad before the Premier League restarts.

With a new campaign looming and several squad questions unresolved, those friendlies will be more than just tune‑ups. For some, they will be auditions.

Jack Grealish steps back onto Finch Farm grass

One of the most intriguing storylines of the summer is already back in training.

Jack Grealish has returned to work with Everton after five months on the sidelines. The playmaker’s absence has been long enough to raise doubts about rhythm and sharpness, but his profile – creativity between the lines, the ability to carry the ball and draw fouls – is exactly what Everton lacked in too many tight games.

How quickly he can reach full speed, and where he fits in Dyche’s structure, will be one of pre-season’s defining subplots. For a side that often had to grind rather than glide, Grealish’s fitness could change the tone of Everton’s attack.

Luca Davis attracting lower-league interest

While some players return to the fold, others may be heading out to learn their trade.

Defender Luca Davis has emerged as a loan target for a number of League One and League Two clubs this summer. That level can be unforgiving, but it is also a proven testing ground for young defenders who need minutes, mistakes and responsibility to grow.

Everton must now decide what kind of challenge best suits his development – and which club can offer the game time and style that align with their long‑term plans for him.

Fixture release day looms

The shape of Everton’s 2026/27 Premier League season will soon be in black and white.

The club’s fixtures will be announced on Friday 19 June at 10am BST, with supporters invited to discover the schedule via a special live YouTube show. It is the morning when fans instinctively scan for the derby dates, the opening day, the run‑in, and those grim-looking stretches where the heavyweights pile up.

For Dyche and his staff, it is also the moment planning becomes precise: when to peak, when to rotate, when the squad’s depth will be pushed to its limit.

Hayden Hackney pursuit drags on

In midfield, Everton’s recruitment team remain locked on a key target.

The club are still determined to sign Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney this summer, but the two sides remain some distance apart in negotiations and no agreement is close. The interest is persistent; the deal is anything but simple.

Hackney’s age and profile fit the club’s drive for younger, resale‑value talent who can also step straight into the first‑team picture. The question now is whether Everton are prepared to bridge the gap in talks, or whether they will be forced to walk away and pivot late in the window.

Academy snapshot: Under-18s step up

While senior business dominates headlines, the academy continues to quietly supply hope.

Everton’s 2025-26 season review has highlighted a very respectable campaign for the Under-18s, a group marked by the emergence of regular goalscorers. At that level, consistency in front of goal often separates genuine prospects from promising also‑rans.

Those numbers will not guarantee a pathway to Goodison Park, but they do strengthen the internal pipeline at a time when homegrown quality is more valuable than ever – both on the pitch and under financial regulations.

Demi Akarakiri weighs Italian move

Not every youth story ends in blue.

Young defender Demi Akarakiri, who has impressed for Everton’s youth sides, could be preparing to leave Merseyside for Cagliari. A move to Italy would represent a bold step for a player still in the early stages of his career, swapping academy football for a different culture, different tempo, and a new tactical education.

For Everton, it would be another reminder that the global market now runs both ways at youth level: clubs are not just importing prospects, they are exporting them too.

World Cup on the screens, club work in the shadows

While Everton’s players scatter across continents – some chasing World Cup glory, others grinding through pre-season tests – the wider tournament rolls into its second round of group games, with Canada facing Qatar and Mexico hosting South Korea.

The spotlight is fixed on the World Cup, but the decisions being made quietly at Finch Farm – over loans, signings, returns from injury and the next wave of academy graduates – will do just as much to decide what kind of Everton walks out when that fixture list finally kicks in.