Journalist Paul Brown has claimed that Jordan Pickford's contract situation at Everton is 'very strange', and seems to be 'held up' at board level.

The Lowdown: Talks broken down?

As per The Guardian, the Goodison Park outfit were set to ‘open talks on a new contract’ for Pickford, after his improved form at club level over the last couple of seasons.

However, The Daily Mail have recently claimed that Pickford’s future is now shrouded in doubt, as the Toffees hierarchy are ‘yet to sign off’ on the new five-year contract he agreed before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

It is believed that he is happy to sign a new deal, but that no reason has been provided for the delay.

The impasse is said to have alerted Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea to his possible availability, with all three clubs potentially in the market for a new goalkeeper.

The Latest: 'Very strange' situation

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Brown has claimed that the  situation with regards to Pickford's contract is 'very strange', adding that it seems to have been 'held up' at board level after an 'agreement' was originally in place:

“The Pickford situation is very strange. It’s clear that the player is not happy that the contract hasn’t already been done and dusted, basically.

“There was an agreement, we were told a few weeks ago, but his agent is clearly out there now saying that there’s some frustration that it’s been held up at board level.”

The Verdict: Sign him up!

Whatever it takes, the Merseyside club simply have to sign Pickford up as soon as they can.

Lauded as a ‘real leader’ with ‘world class’ distribution by sport SEO editor Nick Emms, the goalkeeper has been Everton’s Player of the Year twice, including last season as he helped to keep them in the Premier League.

At international level, Pickford kept three clean sheets in a row for England at the World Cup, as he helped them to reach the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by eventual finalists France.

He has shown on numerous occasions that he can perform on the big stage at the highest level, and it would simply be detrimental for the Blues if he were to leave.