A British balance sheet transfer offer is certainly a sign of admiration, but nothing comparable to the love of your own supporters if you are Peter Ndlovu.
The Zimbabwer became the first African player of the Premier League in 1991, who could have been a difficult question, but Coventry City greeted him with open weapons.
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As Highlanders from Zimbabwe for only £ 10,000, the striker took no time to make himself for work, and even surprised the manager Bobby Gould.
“I didn’t know much about him at all when I got there,” said Gould. “He was as calm as a field mouse.
“But suddenly when I saw him in training, I thought:” My goodness, what do we have here? “He really came under the radar.”
Ndlovu would continue to be an undoubtedly Premier League Kulteleld, who scored 34 goals and registered 13 templates in 154 games.
He did this for one of the large entertainers of the division in the free flowing Sky Blues and made him all the more loved by neutral.
Gould said: “It is always a bit difficult for African players to settle down, but I think it was the way everyone loved him.
“It was a real love relationship between him and the fans. He was a pretty young man who had come over without air and grace, but only wanted to be successful. After a while he just blossomed.”
Love was certainly mutually mutually, since Ndlovu then rejected the chance to join Arsenal for £ 4 million, which would have crossed the British record of 3.7 million GBP for Roy Keane.
When he remembered the interest, Ndlovu remembered: “Bobby Gould said: ‘Peter, Arsenal knock on the door for you, but as a child at the time I replied:’ Boss, I’m happy here. ‘That was my focus.
“It was something very special to be searched for by a large team like Arsenal, but I was already the darling of the crowd in Coventry and wanted to give up more to the people who supported me.
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“There was talk of a fee of £ 4 million that would have made me the most expensive player who was signed by an English club – it was a lot of money at the time. You can see that football has developed further. Money has gone crazy about transfers.”
However, Ndlovu was not only dirty by Arsenal, but he was embarrassed by him a few weeks later.
On the opening day of the 1993/94 season, the attacker was not playable and helped team-mate Micky Quinn to have a hat trick in a 3-0 victory.
The Arsenal Manager George Graham was so angry that he reported that he had canceled a planned round of honor of victory in the newly converted Highbury to celebrate the club’s FA Cup and league or league title in the following season.
Ndlovu was later sold to Birmingham in 1997.
Not quite for £ 4 million, but for a still strong £ 1.7 million, not only Coventry with a decent transfer committee, but the memories of one of her most popular and famous players.
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