Two decades have now passed since a player dubbed so good they named him twice arrived at Bolton Wanderers.
Jay-Jay Okocha arrived at the Whites in 2002 from Paris Saint-Germain. He has previously played in Germany for Borussia Neunkirchen and Eintracht Frankfurt.
From there, he has moved to Turkey to play for Fenerbahce, before heading to the French capital in 1998. In the summer of 2002, Sam Allardyce's side came calling for the Nigerian.
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Legendary former Wanderers boss Allardyce travelled to Paris ahead of the 2002 World Cup and did not make much progress on the potential of a deal. But after the competition in Japan and South Korea had concluded, to the Whites' surprise, Wanderers were able to wrap up a free transfer.
It proved to be a masterstroke, with Okocha going on to 18 goals in 144 games for Wanderers between 2002 and 2006, providing countless memories for supporters which live in the memory to this day.
And though Allardyce admits that it was a long shot to try and bring the player to Wanderers, it was a move which came about through the Reebok Stadium club wanting to make it happen.
Speaking to the Athletic, Allardyce said: "We gave it a shot, not thinking we had any real chance. But if you don’t ask you don’t get.
“We flew out to Paris before the World Cup. We never really got any real response in that meeting, but to our surprise after the World Cup, and after a long conversation, we went back out there and struck a deal in Charles de Gaulle airport.
“The main object was for Jay-Jay to play in the Premier League. Players were coming from all over the world in the early 2000s, because it was clearly the best place to be, the best place to play football and the best place to get paid as well.
"He wanted to broaden his experience in football — and in culture, if you like. He’d experienced the German way, then Turkey, then France then he wanted to come to England.
“It’s an absolute delight to talk about that man.”
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