View: Everton backup will surely eye exit as star continues to shine

Mark Travers has made just two appearances since signing for Everton last summer, as Jordan Pickford shows no signs of slowing down.

Travers made the move to Merseyside from Bournemouth in July of last year, penning a four-year contract with Everton.

He’d started 45 times for the Cherries in their 2021-22 promotion season to the Premier League, but soon lost his starting role in the top flight.

Loan moves to Championship pair Stoke City and Middlesbrough followed, where he proved himself to be a top keeper at second tier level.

However, the Republic of Ireland international has just two League Cup appearances under his belt since joining Everton, and may already have one eye on a transfer exit this summer as such.

Mark Travers has immovable route to Everton stardom in Pickford

Pickford was superb in Everton’s win over Chelsea, with one save in particular to deny Enzo Fernandez another strong contender for his own personal save of the season competition.

At 32 and preparing for another major tournament as England’s undisputed number one goalkeeper this summer, Pickford is going nowhere anytime soon at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Contracted until 2029, Everton’s number one remains their shot-stopper of the future, and that’s bad news for Travers.

The 26-year-old Irishman is coming into the prime years of a goalkeeper’s career, and given he’s played Premier League and Championship football, and has an international career to protect, he’s surely going to want to spend them as a number one.

Watching on from the bench this season, Travers must be thinking to himself: ‘I’ve got little to no chance of becoming the starting goalkeeper so long as Pickford’s here’.

Seeing the collection of world-class saves he’s been making in recent games will only further solidify that belief for Travers, in what was a summer transfer that always had a feeling of not making an awful lot of sense for him.

Travers would’ve been better of staying with Middlesbrough

He was brilliant on loan with Middlesbrough last season, after joining them for the second half of their Championship campaign.

Despite only playing 17 times for Boro, the Riverside Stadium faithful quickly fell in love with him, as he offered them a safe pair of hands in between the sticks.

The Teessiders were reportedly keen on making his temporary stay a permanent one before he signed for Everton, and whilst you can’t begrudge him for taking the Premier League chance with the Toffees, it may not have been the wisest one.

Boro are now sitting second in the Championship and are on the verge of winning promotion back to the top flight, and so had Travers had remained on Teesside, he may well have been a starting Premier League goalkeeper in 2026-27.

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