8 Players You Didn't Know Newcastle United Almost Signed

2. George Weah

In January 1995 Keegan stunned the world of football when he decided to cash in on Andy Cole to Manchester United, even though the player didn't ask to leave, without an obvious replacement lined up. Keegan pleaded for trust from supporters in a legendary exchange on the steps of the Milburn Stand.

It wasn't until the following summer that the £7 million banked from the sale of Cole was spent used to fund a replacement, Les Ferdinand arriving to much fanfare from QPR. But there was a player Keegan had his eye on before Sir Les arrived in town, a certain Liberian powerhouse scoring goals for fun in Ligue 1 for PSG.

George Weah was the man in Keegan's crosshairs and only a gentleman's agreement between the French giants and his future club AC Milan forced a change of direction. Weah later admitted that he was enticed by a move to Tyneside, saying: "I wanted to weigh up all possibilities and would not have signed the paper in Milan if I had known Newcastle were interested.€