Teddy Sheringham initially thought he was on his way to Newcastle United rather than Manchester United after the striker was told that Spurs had 'agreed a fee with an English club' in 1997.
The Magpies already had two elite centre forwards on their books in Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand, who scored 49 goals in their first season together at St James' Park, and that is before you even mention Faustino Asprilla.
However, manager Kenny Dalglish brought in Temuri Ketsbaia, Jon Dahl Tomasson and Ian Rush in his first summer on Tyneside and the black-and-whites sold Ferdinand to Spurs for £6m.
Spurs had been in the market for a new striker after Sheringham completed a £3.5m move to Manchester United in June, 1997 but, originally, the England international thought he might have been heading to the North East.
"I went on holiday and when I came back I had a message that Tottenham had agreed a fee with an English club," Sheringham told Jamie Carragher in his new book, 'The Greatest Games'.
"At first I thought it was Newcastle because they had been in for me. Then I was told 'it's even better than that'.
"So I thought it must be Liverpool. Then I was told 'even better than that'. I was like, 'It can't be Man United?!'"
Sheringham went on to prove a smart signing for the Red Devils and just days after firing his side in front against Newcastle in the 1999 FA Cup final, the veteran scored a dramatic equaliser in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich.
Having not won a major honour before joining Manchester United, at the age of 31, Sheringham ended up winning seven trophies at Old Trafford, including three Premier League titles.
