Everton ink goalkeeper to contract extension

For the second season in a row, Everton will have stability between the sticks at Goodison Park. Jordan Pickford is still a few days away from returning to training, but in the meantime the Blues have locked down backup Maarten Stekelenburg to a 12 month contract extension.

Frankly, this is not a move worth getting upset about, or really holding any opinion on at all. There had been some rumblings about the big Dutchman moving on to Ligue 1, but this is simply a show of good faith from Everton, and cements Stek as Pickford’s backup heading into the season.

It’s a role for which Stekelenburg is perfectly capable. He’s played in every preseason match so far, and barely put a foot wrong, despite his central defenders being completely uninterested in their day jobs.

At this point, it looks like the third goalkeeping role will either be handed to Mateusz Hewelt, or another prospect that we haven’t met yet. Jordan Pickford remains expected to start at Wolves on opening day.