Tottenham Hotspur are plotting a move to sign Jordan Pickford, according to reports...

What's the word?

Football Insider claim that Spurs are keeping a close eye on the England and Everton no.1 ahead of the summer transfer window as they look to find a natural successor to veteran Hugo Lloris.

It's thought that the 28-year-old has emerged as one of the north Londoners' top candidates to replace the Frenchman, whilst Pickford is said to want an exit ahead of next season regardless of whether the Toffees remain in the Premier League or not.

He is also thought to be keen on making the switch to the Lilywhites, though it remains to be seen how much it would cost them. After joining Goodison Park for £30m in 2017, the England titan is currently valued at around €32.4m (£28.5m) by FootballTransfers.

Massive Lloris upgrade

Pickford has become one of the top-flight's best and most consistent performers in recent years, leading to him being Gareth Southgate's regular shot-stopper, even despite the emergence of quality challengers like Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale.

Perhaps the most obvious sign of that is amidst their struggles this campaign, where he currently ranks as their second-best performer (ten or more games), per WhoScored ratings.

Whilst he may have half the clean sheet record of Lloris so far this term, he is not only facing more shots but is also saving them, registering a better save percentage at 74.3% (vs 68.9%), via FBref.

One of Pickford's strongest assets, aside from his reflexes, is his kicking where he ranks amongst the top 9% for launch percentage (passes over 40 yards) and the top 10% for average length of goal kicks (54.3 yards).

And what may make him a considerable upgrade on the European Championship-winning skipper, who has been horribly out of sorts and inconsistent for several months now, is his attitude.

Lloris himself admitted that he was struggling after defeat in the latest edition of the World Cup, where he tasted defeat to Cristian Romero's Argentina. Indeed, he has made blunders against the likes of Aston Villa, Arsenal and Manchester City since the turn of the year - leading to him being lambasted as "a liability."

Meanwhile, the Toffees glovesman is "a bubbly character" - in the eyes of long-term goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly, who also said: "He hates conceding goals… He epitomises that goalkeeper spirit.

"Jordan has always been self-driven and as a coach that’s fantastic when you’re working with someone who wants to learn, listen, develop and get better."

Earning around £100k-per-week in Merseyside, similar to that of Lloris in north London, the 6 foot 1 "monster" - as lauded by journalist Joe Crann - could well be the ideal upgrade to the dwindling veteran and as such, sporting director Fabio Paratici must look to swoop when the opportunity arises.

AND in other news, Spurs could sign their next Mousa Dembele in £20m “engine” who’s “as strong as an Ox”...