DAVID MOYES expects Jordan Pickford to develop into England’s long-term number one, but admits Sunderland will struggle to hold on to the highly-rated goalkeeper if he continues with his current rate of development.

Pickford returns to domestic duty when Sunderland visit Stoke City this afternoon, having enjoyed a whirlwind week that saw him receive his maiden call up to the senior England squad.

The 22-year-old was sitting on the substitutes’ bench as Gareth Southgate’s side played out a goalless draw in Slovenia, even though he only made his Premier League debut in January and was still on loan at Championship side Preston as recently as last December.

His development over the last 12 months could hardly have been more rapid, but Moyes has not been surprised with the youngster’s progress and fully expects him to rise even higher in the next few years.

The Black Cats boss toyed with signing Joe Hart when the England goalkeeper was starting out at Shrewsbury, and sees strong similarities between the Torino loanee and Pickford.

“I remember Joe Hart at Shrewsbury and was recommended to sign him,” said Moyes, who continues to receive bad news on the injury front, with Lamine Kone and Jason Denayer both major doubts for today’s game. “We didn’t quite.

“I also knew about (Jack) Butland when he was young, and we were always in and around the English goalkeepers.

“Jordan is definitely in that bracket now. Some of them don’t always progress as they should, but I think Jordan has every chance, and it’s a huge help that he’s playing in the first team here.

“He reminds me of Joe Hart. I remember him being a thin boy, and now he’s grown to 6ft 4in. The way he’s built and has matured and is a leader – he’s had his ups and downs, but you’d have to say Joe’s had a brilliant career.

“I see a bit of Jordan in that. He’s a bit of a leader as well, although because he’s young, he’s not quite the confidence to be strong enough yet. But he’s been thrown in and has made some terrific saves for the team.”

Pickford got his first-team chance when Vito Mannone was ruled out through injury in late August, and the Washington-born youngster has grabbed it with both hands.

He was particularly impressive against Southampton and Spurs, and unsurprisingly, his performances have not gone unnoticed.

He has already been linked with possible moves to Manchester United and Liverpool, and while Moyes does not expect him to be going anywhere in January, he accepts it could be difficult to hold on to him beyond the end of the season if some big-money bids are forthcoming.

“The top clubs will be looking at Jordan, and I’d expect them to be,” he said. “That’s what happens. I’ve said that on the journey of building football clubs, sometimes you have to sell players on.

“That only works if you continue to build and put the right blocks in place for the next stage. I don’t think we’d ever be in a hurry to sell Jordan, and if we do, then we know we’ve got a bit of a commodity with him being a young England goalkeeper. But part of bringing players here will be that we have to sell some on the way.”

Pickford trained alongside Hart and Fraser Forster as England prepared for Tuesday’s game in Ljubljana, having been plucked out of the England Under-21 squad following an injury to Burnley’s Tom Heaton.

He has spent the last two days training with his Sunderland team-mates, and has received some gentle ribbing in the wake of his international exploits.

“The boys have been giving him a bit of stick,” said Moyes. “He was talking about ‘Wazza’ this and that, so they had a wee bit of fun with him.

“I was talking with him about the standard of player with England – the way they finish and the speed of the ball. We were talking about how hard the top players strike it, and how well they place it in the corners.

“I was saying to him how that is his development, and how he has to use it to get to the next level. There will be ups and downs for a young goalkeeper, but the big thing is that when you come back from England, you have to show everyone the reason why you were selected in the first place. He’s got some things in his game which are still immature, but that’s because he’s young.”

It remains to be seen who plays in front of Pickford this afternoon, with Kone nursing a hamstring problem and Denayer almost certain to miss out because of an adductor injury.

Mannone, Adnan Januzaj, Fabio Borini, Jan Kirchhoff, Lee Cattermole and Seb Larsson are on the long-term absentee list, but Moyes insists it is bad luck rather than bad training techniques that are to blame.

“The injuries have all been in games,” he said. “I would worry if it was injuries from training, but they are more to do with games.”