REVEALED: The inside story of how Portsmouth missed out on Chelsea legend along with Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton

His name: Didier Drogba.

Chief football writer, Mark Storey, told how Harry Redknapp had twice crossed the Channel to watch the 25-year-old in action for his side Guingamp.

Talks were taking place with the player’s agent over a move for a reported fee of around £2m, with discussions becoming more advanced after Redknapp saw Drogba score two goals against Lyon.

`He's a good player, I like him,’ Redknapp told The News.

‘He's big and strong and scores goals. I went to watch him in Lyon at the weekend, and he scored twice.

`But I don't know if I'm going to be able to afford him. That's the problem. I haven't got a lot of money to spend, and most of that has to go on wages. And I know Southampton are interested in him too.’

It wasn’t just Pompey's fierce rivals but also Spurs who were trailing the man who moved to Guingamp from Le Mans for £80,000, a year before news of Pompey’s interest had surfaced.

When factoring in the wages for the player who’d yet to make his Ivory Coast debut, the cost of the package to sign Drogba went closer to £4m, however.

That figure was eventually deemed too significant by then Pompey owner Milan Mandaric, with the likes of Paolo Di Canio, Les Ferdinand and Pierra Van Hooijdonk being considered.

Teddy Sheringham was the man who eventually arrived on a free transfer, though, with Vincent Pericard’s loan stay from Juventus becoming permanent at a cost of £400,000.

Drogba’s agent, Pape Diouf, had told The News in off-the-record conversations that Lyon, Lens and Marseille were also keen on his player in France.

It was the Stade Velodrome which was to be the striker’s destination, with Redknapp’s assessment of what Drogba was capable of achieving being bang on the money.

After his 20 goals in 28 games for Guingamp, the force of nature smashed in 30 finishes for his new club domestically and in the Champions League.

That pricked Chelsea’s interest, and with the Londoners bankrolled by Roman Abramovich, they splashed a club record fee to take the 6ft 2in man to Stamford Bridge.

Within 12 months of refusing to stump up the money to land Drogba, he’d been sold for £24m - with it clear Pompey had missed out on a deal which would have arguably gone down as the best in the club’s history.