England legend Alan Shearer has revealed just how close he was to joining Manchester United over Newcastle in 1996.
Although the striker eventually plumped for his hometown club, only the tenacity of then manager Kevin Keegan to pursue a world-record £15 million ($18m) deal prevented him from making a switch to Old Trafford.
It was no secret that Shearer was wanted by the Red Devils, but he has now lifted the lid on how close he came to signing for the club and the response of Sir Alex Ferguson when he did not.