On 30 June 1997, Chelsea strengthened their midfield with the signing of Gus Poyet from Real Zaragoza.
The Uruguayan arrived on a free transfer and soon became a crowd favourite.
The 29-year-old got his first goal for his new team on his second Premier League appearance, a 6-0 victory at Barnsley.
Poyet endeared himself further to the Stamford Bridge faithful by scoring against Arsenal on his home debut.
A cruciate ligament injury in October kept him out for six months but he recovered to help Chelsea win the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup that season and scored the late winner in the UEFA Super Cup final against Real Madrid later that year.
A tenacious midfielder with an eye for goal, Poyet scored at least 10 league goals in three of his four seasons at the club, the pick of which was his spectacular volley against Sunderland from a lofted Gianfranco Zola pass on the opening day of 1999/00.
Poyet scored 36 goals in 105 appearances for Chelsea and helped them win the FA Cup in May 2000.
He moved on to Tottenham Hotspur the next year.