Jordan Pickford has spoken up on behalf of the goalkeepers’ union by defending Petr Cech.

Pickford is a trailblazer for sweeper-keepers and is encouraged to play out from the back by his England boss Gareth Southgate.

But the debate has been raging after Arsenal counterpart Cech has been urged to change his style at the age of 36 by new manager Unai Emery and Liverpool ’s world-record signing No1 Alisson dropped a clanger against Leicester last week while trying to do a Cruyff turn.

Everton star Pickford says Cech is still one of the best in the business but admitted goalies must pick and choose their moments when it comes to distribution with their feet.

(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty)

Ahead of Saturday's opening game in the new Nations League against Spain at Wembley, Pickford said: “He (Cech) has been top keeper in the Premier League for the last ten or 12 years. He’s a keeper when you’re growing up you see him making these saves week in week out.

“He’s probably been the most consistent goalkeeper in these last 10 years in the Premier League, so you can’t give him too much criticism.

“I’m certainly not giving him any, I think he’s a great goalkeeper and someone you look up to.

Show Player

(Image: Getty)

"But it’s a way of playing out from the back, you don’t have to do it all the time. Look at Ederson a few weeks ago getting the assist with (Sergio) Aguero.

“Obviously I’ve got it in my locker as well. I haven’t pulled an assist off yet. I nearly got one the other day against Bournemouth , so I was disappointed.

“It’s about the right time of doing it. You don’t have to play out every time, you might’ve had a spell of five minutes where you’ve been under a lot of pressure and you need to calm the game down.

(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty)

(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty)

“The last thing you want to do if a team’s pressing you is you playing out, they win, the crowd’s going up, it’s about it getting the right balance.

“I try not to [do tricks] because I don’t want to be caught with it. It’s a risk. If it comes off it looks good and if it doesn’t…

“Look at Ederson at Man City. Guardiola puts a lot of faith in him doing it.

“Mistakes happen all over the pitch, but the goalkeeper mistake is always a crucial one or gets talked about a lot.”

Pickford has become a national hero since the World Cup with his shoot-out heroics against Colombia and saves that helped England reach the semi-finals.

He says he's has noticed a change in the mood within football grounds this season and has loved the reaction after Russia.

(Image: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

(Image: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

“It’s really nice. The first one was Wolves away. I came out and got a massive applause. That’s a difference,” said Pickford. “Sometimes I’m looking behind me and thinking, 'Is that for me or not?'

Show more

“So I give them a clap and applause. It’s about interacting. I’ve always been like that as a player and always interact with the home and away fans if I can.

“Even if they’re giving us stick I’ll always laugh because it’s part of it, part of football.”