Everton transfer that never was nearly led Manchester United to door of 'unbuyable' star

Jordan Pickford continues to be in the spotlight for his England exploits but back in the summer of 1990 Everton faced the unenviable task of finding a potential replacement for their greatest-ever goalkeeper Neville Southall. Despite penning a marathon seven-and-a-half year deal at Goodison Park in December 1988, the legendary custodian slapped in three separate transfer requests in 1990 and the Blues seriously looked into finding an alternative in between the sticks.

Indeed, manager Colin Harvey went as far as bringing in another goalkeeper who had played in that summer’s World Cup finals in Italy. Ahmed Shobier had turned out for Egypt in the same group as England and the Republic of Ireland in Sicily and Sardinia and went on to win 107 caps for his country.

Shobier would go on to win seven Egyptian titles and five cups with his club Al Ahly over a 17-year spell between 1980-97 that would eclipse even Southall’s 16 years with Everton between 1981 and 1997 but both of these lengthy tenures might have been cut short if the Blues had taken the plunge during a time in which the Welshman remained disillusioned.

It was remarked that Shobier had “brought the weather with him” when he arrived for a week-long trial on July 19, a day in which Liverpool was basking in temperatures of 82 degrees Fahrenheit, which the ECHO pointed out was a degree hotter than Rio de Janeiro that day (omitting the fact that it was officially winter in the southern hemisphere). While Scousers sweltered, joining in training at Bellefield, the Egyptian quipped: “For us it is not hot. It is just right.”

Posing for a photograph with Andy Hinchcliffe, Everton’s new signing from Manchester City, on the back page, Shobier told the ECHO: “Everton is a big