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The England under 21's international, who made his first team debut against Arsenal earlier this month, has signed an extension which should see him become the first choice goalkeeper at the club for years to come.
Having come through our academy this can be viewed as an important piece of business for the club, especially when you consider the fact he's just twenty-one years of age and the length of contract helps to protect the club should other teams come sniffing around him.
Pickford only signed a new deal eighteen months ago but his impressive showing in his appearances for the first team have alerted Sam Allardyce to further secure the future of one of Sunderland's top talents.
Big Sam told SAFC.com that he feels Pickford has a bright future at the club:
Jordan is an exceptional talent who has already demonstrated that he is comfortable playing at the highest level. At the tender age of just 21, which is still very young in goalkeeping terms, there is still a lot more potential for development which is really exciting for us.
It’s always great to see a local lad progress through the Academy ranks especially for our fans, and I am certain that Jordan has a very bright future ahead of him here at Sunderland.
What does this mean right now? Well, it's been an important few weeks at the club when it comes to goalkeepers, and in particular for Jordan Pickford. His form on loan at Preston prompted the manager to bring him back to Sunderland, and having seen enough to be confident that Pickford has the ability to perform should he be called upon, Allardyce allowed Costel Pantillimon to leave for Watford.
Rather crucially, Sam brought in veteran ex-Newcastle keeper Steve Harper on Friday, with Harper's main task during his time at the club to help develop Pickford and hopefully impart some knowledge by training on daily basis with him - it's clear that Sam is fond of Jordan.
