Alex Iwobi interview: Everton midfielder on a mission after seasons of turmoil

Hearing about a big money move while relaxing in an idyllic setting is the stuff of dreams for most footballers.

But for Alex Iwobi, it was a less-than-perfect scenario before completing his £28 million ($34m) transfer to Everton during a family holiday to Dubai in August 2019.

The Nigeria international, 26, had been enjoying a post-Africa Cup of Nations break when the prospect of a move to Merseyside arose days before a summer window deadline. Yet Iwobi’s switch from Arsenal proved to be anything other than plain sailing.

“It got played down for a bit and I got told that it wasn't going to go on,” he told The National. “I was on a boat and I get a call from Marco Silva at the time saying: 'We're really interested. How do you feel?' I thought, maybe I'm ready for a new challenge.

“We told them it was an emergency, like we needed to spin the boat [around] and get back quick because we were in the middle of nowhere. I have to give props to the driver because I don't know how he sped back to get us back in time to try and sign the documents.”

If the story of Iwobi’s arrival at Goodison Park sounds like a scene freshly plucked from a James Bond film, his intervening years have been more reminiscent of a classic underdog story.

His debut season was disrupted at its midway stage by a hamstring injury picked up against his former club before a scheduled return coincided with the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Everton’s turnover of four permanent managers across the next three years, similarly, did little to help with his attempts to properly acclimatise to his new surroundings.

Alex Iwobi during a pre-season game for Everton against Minnesota United. Getty

But the strong family values he holds also extend to football, where