Jordan Pickford confirms he is STAYING at Everton after the England keeper was linked to Man United

Jordan Pickford is determined to stay at Everton next season and help the club regain solid footing in the Premier League following two seasons of relegation contention.

Everton survived the drop for a second consecutive year as victory over Bournemouth on the final day of the season maintained their English top-flight ranking.

Toffees goalkeeper and England number one Pickford has been linked with a move away from Goodison Park during the ongoing transfer window but is keen to remain at the club, as he explained via the Athletic.

Manchester United were linked with making a bid for Pickford before deciding to focus on Inter shot-stopper Andre Onana, while there was previous reported interest from Chelsea and Tottenham.

The 29-year-old has been a key member of Everton's squad since joining from Sunderland in 2017 and signed a new four-and-a-half year contract at the club in February.

Pickford explained he is staying put and outlined his commitment to helping move the club forward under Sean Dyche, stating: 'Definitely [I'll be here next season].

'I've just signed a new contract and I'm happy and my family is happy so now we just want to move forward as a club.'

Everton finished one place and two points above the relegation zone in May and guaranteeing safety by just a four point margin the year previous.

Sections of the club's fanbase has grown increasingly frustrated over the actions of majority owner Farhad Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright, while the players have failed to raise spirits with their performances.

Everton are one of the few teams that have never been relegated from England's top division and Pickford warned that the club can't repeat the same mistakes again next season.

'We should never have been in that position,' Pickford said while speaking at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club.

'We lost a lot of games that we shouldn't have ever lost, or we had chances where we should have taken points from more games.

'It was our own fault that we ended up in that position. But it does show the type of characters we are to get out of that situation.'

'We need to knuckle down and work hard on the training pitch.'