I was loved at Newcastle United - but leaving was a 'no-brainer' after club-record Tottenham Hotspur bid

Ferdinand joined Newcastle from Queens Park Rangers for £6million in 1995 and went on to score 50 goals in 84 games for the club helping secure consecutive second-place finishes in the Premier League.

“I had a period of scoring goals for QPR in the Premier League and transfer speculation was rife that I was going to leave them at one stage,” Ferdinand reflected. “Newcastle were one of the teams who decided they wanted to acquire my services.

“Around the same time, there were people who told me Tottenham were interested but I also heard other people say Alan Sugar wasn't prepared to pay £6m for a 28-year-old!

“So, I spoke to Kevin Keegan and shook hands on a deal. After that, I had a call saying Spurs wanted to speak to me but there was no point because once I'd given my word, that was it.

“The engines were very much on and revving at Newcastle at that time. It was, and still is, a great club and everyone knows how incredible the supporters are there. I always said if I left QPR, I wanted to go to a club where I could improve myself and I think that was the case at Newcastle.”

Ferdinand enjoyed the best form of his career at Newcastle, scoring 29 goals in his first season at the club. The Magpies were runaway leaders in the Premier League in January but ended up finishing runners-up to Manchester United.

Ferdinand ended the season being named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year.

“We were dubbed 'The Entertainers' at Newcastle and it was incredible to be at the club in such a fantastic period of their history, playing great football,” Ferdinand said in the Spurs programme. “There's always a slight bitter-sweet feeling when I think back to my time at Newcastle though.

“The abiding memory is the season we were 12 points clear towards the end of January [1996], but ended up being beaten to the title by Manchester United. It was probably the best period of my football career at Newcastle but there's always the feeling of 'what could have been' in terms of missing out on the league.”

The striker’s second season on Tyneside saw him hand the No. 9 shirt to record signing Alan Shearer as the pair formed a formidable scoring partnership. Ferdinand scored a further 21 goals in all competitions while Shearer won the Premier League Golden Boot with 25 goals (28 in all competitions).

With Newcastle needing to raise funds, Ferdinand was sold at age 30 to his boyhood club Tottenham Hotspur for £6million in 1997 - a club record at the time.

“I had two very good years at Newcastle and scored lots of goals,” he added. “In my second season, the club signed Alan Shearer for a record transfer fee.

“Myself and Alan forged a really good partnership but that summer, the club needed to raise funds and I remember I was being talked about in respect of other clubs. I had spoken to a few clubs, but when Spurs came in, it was a no-brainer for me.”