They all agree he is a fantastic centre back / sweeper and defensive midfielder (why were we playing him right back, a position he never plays??) but the younger fans see him as a cult hero whilst the older ones see him as a dangerous and indisciplined rebel.  No doubt the truth is somewhere in between but he would certainly need to learn on-field restraint to play in England.  They do seem genuinely excited and proud by the possibility he could become the first Egyptian to play in England and I suspect we may pick up a few more new fans if he does join (but he isn't a right back lads!!!).

The concensus is he is fast, competitive, physically strong, smart and has a great desire to win but also has a temper and can lack self-discipline.  The various run-ins with his club and national team have been well-posted as has the view that he'd be better in a more liberal environment but the main thing that concerns me is that he seems a bit 'old fashioned' in that he 'gets even' on the pitch when annoyed / fouled.  With modern PL refereeing he might spend a lot of time in the stands!

Ibrahim Said, undeniably one of Africa's football most hottest properties, has been in sparkling form with his club and the Pharaohs during the last two seasons, only disciplinary record casting a black mark on his brilliant career.

Red-carded on five occasions in the past two seasons with Al-Ahly, the club who penalized him for 3 months last year have reportedly agreed a $2.2 million price-tag handed by Everton.

Should the move go ahead, the player, who failed to move to Belgian outfits Genk in 2000, "will be receiving a $500k bonus from his new club," stated daily paper Al-Gomhouria.

Take a look at this stunning Said goal (Broadband .mpg file)

I saw Said play for Al-Ahly when I was on holiday in Cairo last year and he was pretty special.  Very quick, tough tackler, great distribution and a great right foot - he scored a 25 yard thunderbolt free kick ala the Stubbs bullet.

He was playing just in front of the back 4 in a defensive midfielder role and was very solid and impressive.

I am very excited at seeing him in the Everton shirt and reckon he will strengthen our very weak and woeful midfield. He can also play in defence but I would like to see him either in the centre of the park or solving our right mid problem.

The closest Said got to playing for the Everton first team was warming the bench during the Premiership game at Spurs.  Ibrahim played a few reserves games but his heart wasn't in it; his mother became seriously ill in Cairo and Said was eventually allowed to cut short his loan spell without every playing in a first-team match.  He returned home to care for his mother in April 2003.