Everton's Summer Story: Pickford Shines in World Cup

Jordan Pickford has barely kicked a ball for Everton this summer, yet his fingerprints are already all over the early weeks of the 2026 World Cup.

The Everton goalkeeper helped England launch their campaign with a 4-2 win over Croatia, a scoreline that flatters neither side and says plenty about the chaos of Thomas Tuchel’s new era. Pickford, as ever, sat right at the heart of it. England tried to build from the back, Croatia pressed, and the tension on the touchline boiled over into what appeared to be a flashpoint between Tuchel and his No.1 over playing out under pressure.

England still walked away with three points. Pickford walked away with another reminder that his role, for club and country, is no longer just about shot-stopping. It’s about risk, responsibility, and a manager barking instructions from 20 yards away.

Everton, watching from afar, know that better than most.

Grealish back on the grass

Back on Merseyside, a different kind of headline quietly took shape.

Jack Grealish has returned to training after five months out, a significant step in a stop-start chapter of his career. For a player whose game is built on rhythm, sharp turns and the confidence to demand the ball, the long lay-off has felt like an eternity.

Now he’s back in with the group. No fanfare, no dramatic reveal, just boots on, bib on, and the long climb towards full sharpness. How quickly he can rediscover his edge will shape Everton’s attacking options heading into the new season.

Pre-season on the road

Supporters won’t have to wait long to see how the pieces start to fit.

Everton have confirmed further fixtures in their 2026 pre-season schedule, with the Blues set to criss-cross England, Scotland and Germany. It’s a summer tour that offers Sean Dyche and his staff a proper look at the depth of the squad, and gives fans the chance to follow their club through three football cultures in a matter of weeks.

Friendlies rarely tell the full truth. But they do reveal clues: who looks fit, who looks lost, and which youngsters seize their moment.

Davis attracting interest

One of those younger names edging towards a decision is Luca Davis.

The Everton defender is drawing loan interest from several League One and League Two clubs. For a player at that stage of his development, the choice is stark: stay around the fringes at Finch Farm or go out and learn the hard way on heavy pitches with points on the line.

A well-chosen loan can make a career. Everton’s challenge is to find the right dressing room, the right manager, the right level of pressure to turn promise into something more concrete.

Fixture reveal on the horizon

The next marker in the club’s calendar arrives on Friday 19 June at 10am BST, when the 2026/27 Premier League fixtures are released.

It’s the moment every supporter scans for the same things: opening day, Boxing Day, the run-in, and where the derbies fall. Everton will unveil their schedule via a live YouTube show, turning what used to be a line of text in a newspaper into an event in its own right.

The dates will frame everything that follows – from squad planning to pre-season minutes and the urgency of the transfer market.

Hackney pursuit rumbles on

That market already has one clear Everton storyline.

The club remain determined to bring in Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney. The stance is firm; the deal is not. The two clubs are still some distance apart in negotiations, with no agreement close at this stage.

This is the modern transfer dance: Everton pushing, Middlesbrough holding their ground, both sides weighing value against ambition. Hackney’s profile – young, technically secure, comfortable in tight spaces – fits where Everton want to go. The question is how far they are prepared to stretch to get there.

Youth steps up – and moves on?

While the first team wrestles with World Cup absences and transfer talks, the academy continues to do its quiet work.

Everton’s Under-18s have put together a very respectable 2025-26 campaign, marked by a crop of regular goalscorers stepping forward. It’s the kind of season that doesn’t dominate headlines but does shape the next few years of a club’s squad building.

One of the standout youth names, Demi Akarakiri, may be about to test himself elsewhere. The young defender has impressed for Everton’s youth sides and could now be preparing for a move to Cagliari. If it happens, it would be another reminder of how global the pathway has become: a teenager swapping Merseyside for Sardinia in search of minutes and a faster route to senior football.

While Pickford chases World Cup glory and Tuchel chases control, Everton’s summer keeps moving: fixtures incoming, tours booked, deals debated, careers at a crossroads.

By the time England’s tournament is done, the shape of Everton’s season may look very different.