3. Laurent Robert (£10million)
Owen Humphreys/PA Archive/Press Association ImagesIf any one player encapsulates one team, it's Laurent Robert and that Champions League playing Newcastle side of 2002/03: vibrant, unpredictable, pacey, threatening and downright entertaining are just a small number of adjectives that player and era share. The Frenchman was to 2002 Tyneside what David Ginola was in 1996. Ross McCormack has just swapped Leeds United for Fulham, both of whom ply their trade in the Championship right now, for £11million, which is the perfect indication that inflation in football is rife, as when Newcastle paid £10million to Paris St Germain in the summer, it was seen as a big risk to spend so much money on a 26-year-old who had only made a handful of appearances for his national side. Yet, as proven by a number of other signings made by Newcastle, prowess on the international stage counts for very little when stepping out onto the cauldron of St James' Park. Robert was as exciting going forward as he was frustrating defensively, and every goal he seemed to score looked impossible in some form. Whether it was a 35-yard free kick or a volley from a ridiculous angle, Robert would rise to the challenge and dispatch it, more often than not, with his magic wand of a left foot. His pace was electrifying, he'd beat a man, or three, just by running in a straight line. His ability to win penalties came in handy, particularly on cold night in December at Highbury, where a 3-1 victory over Arsenal ended the 29 winless streak in London and sending Sir Bobby's charges top at Christmas simultaneously. He knew how to pick his moments, but in his 5 year spell on Tyneside, Laurent Robert was adored. He is the type of signing that most, if not all, would welcome again.