His goals (68 in 85 games) had turned him into a hero among Newcastle fans and they were devastated when it was revealed Cole had been sold to United for £7m in January (£6m plus £1m-rated Keith Gillespie). To Man United fans, though, they were buying a player who was clearly going to become even better. Here was a man who earned PFA Young Player of the Year for the 1993/94 season and he ended up firing them to Champions League glory in 1999 as well as five Premier League titles.
In hindsight it wasn’t great.