Manchester United Reportedly Prepared to Pay £70 Million for Jordan Pickford

Jordan Pickford would find himself in demand if David De Gea leaves Manchester United, with the Red Devils reportedly prepared to pay as much as £70 million for the Toffees goalkeeper.

United see Pickford as the main candidate to replace De Gea if needed, per Neil Fissler of the Sunday Mirror. Fissler noted how De Gea "wants about £350,000 a week to commit to the club long-term and turn down a move to Paris Saint-Germain."

The Spain international wants wage parity with Alexis Sanchez, United's highest earner who has struggled since arriving from Arsenal back in January.

Sanchez may be struggling to justify his salary, but De Gea remains arguably the most important member of United's squad. The 28-year-old stopper still has the ability to keep the Red Devils in games with splendid saves.

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De Gea did just that during the recent 1-0 win at home to Young Boys in the UEFA Champions League when he produced a remarkable stop to claw the ball off the line with the game scoreless in the 70th minute.

Manager Jose Mourinho was effusive in his praise as he talked up the possibility of De Gea signing a new long-term contract, per The Sun's Rebecca Chaplin: "He wants to stay I want him to stay of course, he's the level of player Manchester United needs."

BBC Sport's Simon Stone reported how United have taken the option to extend De Gea's contract beyond this season. However, the club still understandably seeks more security in the long term.

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If De Gea were to move on, Pickford would be a curious choice to replace him. The England international possesses obvious talent but has also been guilty of some high-profile errors.

Pickford's most notable gaffe saw Everton lose Sunday's Merseyside derby 1-0 against Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League. Liverpool snatched the winner deep into stoppage time when Pickford swatted a cross-shot off his bar instead of merely letting the ball drift over, allowing substitute Divock Origi to finish from close range.

While his misjudgment was costly, Pickford earned plaudits for not hiding from his culpability:

However, some couldn't help reference comments Pickford had previously made about his Liverpool counterpart, Alisson Becker:

The contrasting styles of Pickford and Alisson help make sense of United's interest since the latter is more of a so-called sweeper 'keeper who will play out from the back and take risks to start moves. By contrast, Pickford is more comfortable staying on his line and trusting his ability to make saves when presented with danger.

While it doesn't always work, it's a similar approach to the one De Gea uses. Signing Pickford would ensure United wouldn't face a major transition if De Gea moved on, even if the former would need to show improvement to merit such a hefty fee.