Former England midfielder Kieron Dyer has shared the remarkable story of how Sir Alex Ferguson personally called him to discuss a potential move to Manchester United - and immediately hung up after getting the answers he wanted.
The fateful phone call
Dyer, who was at Newcastle United at the time, found himself on a speakerphone call that would change his perspective on transfer negotiations forever. The conversation took place while he was at New York airport returning to England with teammate Titus Bramble when his agent connected him to two powerful figures in football.
"The first voice was Pini Zahavi who was the 'super agent', he was Rio Ferdinand's agent then," Dyer recalled during an appearance on the Open Goal podcast. "The next voice was, 'Hi Kieron, it's Sir Alex,' so I'm like [gestures mouthing Sir Alex Ferguson while pointing at the phone]."
Ferguson's blunt questions
The Manchester United legend didn't waste time with pleasantries, getting straight to the point with two crucial questions that would determine whether the transfer pursuit would continue.
"He said, 'I just want you to answer me two questions, first is do you want to come and play for Manchester United?' I was like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,'" Dyer revealed.
The second question proved more controversial, testing Dyer's commitment to making the move happen. "'If Newcastle don't accept the bid will you go and kick up some noise?' Then I was like, 'Yeah, yeah,' and that was it, he just hung up the phone."
Background of the transfer pursuit
This wasn't the first time top clubs had shown interest in Dyer's services. Earlier in his career, while at Ipswich Town, multiple elite clubs had pursued his signature including Juventus, Arsenal, Newcastle, Leeds and West Ham.
Dyer described the surreal experience of receiving calls from managers like Ruud Gullit while holidaying in Ayia Napa with friends. "Everyone talks about your journey but what is so great is taking your friends on the journey with you," he said. "Can you imagine, I've got Ruud Gullit on the phone [in front of my friends] and I'm going, 'it's Ruud!'"
Despite Dyer's willingness to agitate for a move, the transfer ultimately collapsed when Manchester United refused to meet Newcastle's £25 million valuation after having a £15 million bid rejected.
Dyer remained at St James' Park, where he made 250 appearances and earned a place in the Premier League Team of the Year for the 2002/03 season. He later played for QPR and Middlesbrough before retiring in 2013 without any major silverware to his name - leaving him to wonder what might have been had that dramatic phone call led to a successful transfer to Old Trafford.
