Jordan Pickford Officially Completes Record Transfer from Sunderland to Everton

Everton completed the signing of Jordan Pickford from Sunderland on Thursday, with the Englishman penning a five-year deal at Goodison Park.

The Toffees confirmed Pickford's move from the Black Cats to Merseyside:

Per BBC Sport, the transfer fee agreed between the two clubs was £25 million, rising to 30 million.

Pickford, 23, came through the youth ranks at the Stadium of Light. He joined the club as an eight-year-old in 2002 and was sent out on various loan spells during his formative years.

In the 2016-17 campaign, he took advantage of an injury to Vito Mannone to become the club's No. 1 after a string of impressive performances.

In a relegated team of largely poor performers, England under-21 international Pickford was one of few bright lights for Sunderland in 2016-17.

He was deservedly nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award and performed consistently well across the campaign, per WhoScored.com:

It is little surprise, then, that he has been snapped up by Everton, who have undoubtedly signed one of the finest young goalkeepers in Europe. 

He will likely be installed as the Toffees' No. 1 goalkeeper, with Maarten Stekelenburg and Joel Robles having shared duties last term.

Pickford's Premier League experience will prove valuable to him on Merseyside, and he is only likely to get better the more he plays. 

He is a big loss for Sunderland, but they were never likely to keep hold of him even if they had survived relegation.