Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has completed a whooping £30million move to Everton from Sunderland making the most expensive British goalkeeper of all time ranking third for the most expensive goalkeeper.
Although the 23-year-old is yet to nail appearance for England, Ronald Koeman’s Everton have had a bid accepted by the Black Cats which could reach £30million with various add-ons.
here, we look at the progression of the British record fee for goalkeepers from 1989, when a goalkeeper first commanded a seven-figure sum.
1989 – NIGEL MARTYN – BRISTOL ROVERS TO CRYSTAL PALACE (£1MILLION)
A year after Trevor Francis became Britain’s first £1million footballer, Martyn was the first goalkeeper to attract such a fee when Crystal Palace brought the then uncapped goalie to the capital. He made the first of his 23 England appearance in 1992 while with the Eagles and was of the team that the 1990 FA Cup final to Manchester United. Crystal Palace made a £1.25million when he was sold to Leeds in 1996.
1990 – DAVID SEAMAN – QPR TO ARSENAL (£1.3MILLION)
David Seaman was the man wo kept Martyn on the Three Lions’ bench for much of his career was also more expensive purchase for Arsenal when they decided to replace John Lukic. In the months before Seaman’s move was completed, Arsenal fans sang, “We all agree that Lukic is better than Seaman”, yet few would still hold that view now after an impressive 13-year stint that included 564 appearances and eight major trophies.
1993 – TIM FLOWERS – SOUTHAMPTON TO BLACKBURN (£2.4MILLION)
Another of Seaman’s England understudies made a big-money move as part of the £20million transformation that Kenny Dalglish undertook to turn Blackburn into title winners in 1995. Flowers spent six seasons at Ewood Park and won that Championship winners’ medal prior to leaving for Leicester City after Rovers were relegated in 1999. Flowers was part of England’s squads for Euro 1996 and the World Cup in 1998 but registered just 11 appearances.
2001 – RICHARD WRIGHT – IPSWICH TO ARSENAL (£6MILLION)
It looked as if Steve Simonsen would be the next to break the record when he was signed to Everton from Tranmere in a 1998 deal that could have been worth £3.3million. however, Simonsen failed to meet a number of the stipulations for add-ons so Flowers’ record fee remained intact until Arsenal acquired one-cap international Wright in the summer of 2001. However, having failed to dislodge first-choice stopper Seaman, Wright moved on just 12 months later to join Everton.
2001 – CHRIS KIRKLAND – COVENTRY TO LIVERPOOL (£6MILLION+)
Not long after Wright headed to north London, Kirkland, another highly rated young English goalkeeper, joined Liverpool on the same day they completed move for Jerzy Dudek. Kirkland was only at the time, and would not represent England for another five years, but Coventry confirmed it was a fee greater than the one the Gunners spent when they signed Richard Wright. The presence of Dudek and a series of injuries meant Kirkland never lived up to his price tag at Anfield.
2007 – CRAIG GORDON – HEARTS TO SUNDERLAND (£9MILLION)
Sunderland were the ones splashing the cash on a goalkeeper eight years ago when they bought Hearts’ Gordon after returning to the Premier League. Injuries also blighted Gordon’s progress, though, and he spent two years out of the game having been released by Sunderland in 2012. Last season he helped Celtic to a domestic treble when they remained unbeaten domestically and, now 34, he signed a new deal in March having reportedly attracted interest from Chelsea in the winter window.
2014 – FRASER FORSTER – CELTIC TO SOUTHAMPTON (£10MILLION)
Gordon’s move to Celtic allowed the Bhoys to let Fraser Forster join Southampton in another record-setting transfer. Current Everton boss Koeman was in charge of the Saints when they signed Forster after he kept a Scottish top-flight record 13 clean sheets in a row. The big keeper had just returned from England’s disappointing 2014 World Cup campaign, though he was not used in Brazil by Roy Hodgson, and he remains behind the likes of Joe Hart and Jack Butland in the pecking order.