On this day: Dion Dublin joins Manchester United

With the Premiership soon to be implemented, Alex Ferguson (pre-knighthood) had decided that his Manchester United squad, which had finished second to Leeds United during the previous season, was in need of bolstering up front.

The rumour was that the Scot wanted Southampton's Alan Shearer, but the Geordie opted for Blackburn Rovers - it wouldn't be the last time that he rejected an approach from Ferguson.

Consequently, the United boss sprung something of a surprise on this very day in 1992 when he captured the services of Cambridge United frontman Dion Dublin for a reported £1m.

The 23-year-old had been part of the U's squad that had risen through the Football League over the previous three seasons and even reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, with Dublin finding the net against Arsenal.

He was eased in gently by Ferguson, who opted to partner Brian McClair with Mark Hughes during the opening three matches of the campaign - none of which United won.

It meant that by the time a trip to Southampton rolled around, Dublin was in the starting lineup. He made the most of the opportunity as well, scoring the only goal of the game from a McClair knock down to hand the visitors all three points.

He kept his place for the next encounter against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, but in what was his first full outing at Old Trafford next time out, disaster struck.

With half time approaching, Dublin was involved in a challenge with Crystal Palace's Eric Young that left the United striker with a broken leg.

It would be six months until Dublin's next appearance in a red shirt and during that time, Ferguson had signed a certain Eric Cantona from rivals Leeds. The mercurial Frenchman would end up leading United to their first league title in 26 years.

As a result, Dublin's chances were limited and he was handed just 10 outings in all competitions during the 1993-94 campaign, scoring two goals, including one in a Premiership fixture against Oldham Athletic.

He departed the champions in the summer of 1994 for Coventry City, where he would go on to establish himself as one of England's most clinical centre-forwards, as well as with Aston Villa.

Spells with Leicester City and Celtic followed, before he ended his career where it all started for him as a trainee at Norwich City.