Newcastle United hindered Bristol City's Andy Cole enjoyment after £1.75m deal: View | OneFootball

Andy Cole is a striker synonymous in English football but Bristol City never got the chance to see him in full flow.

In football, the hardest thing to do is put the ball in the back of the net. It is a rare gift that only minimal players excel at.

One man who never struggled with it was Premier League legend Andy Cole.

The striker scored an abnormal 187 goals in 415 games in the top division and held the record for the most number of goals in a Premier League season until Erling Haaland came along.

The Englishman wasn't always at the height of English football though, and Bristol City paid £500,000 to Arsenal in order to sign the striker in 1992.

His time in the South-West was short-lived and what Robins fans would have given just to have seen Cole for that bit longer.

Andy Cole's time in Bristol

Having joined on loan from Arsenal in March 1992, it did not take long for Cole to flourish with eight goals in his first 12 appearances for the Robins. This was enough for the City hierarchy to chase a permanent deal, and they signed him for a record transfer fee.

After signing, it quickly became apparent that Cole was far too good for the second tier.

Aged just 21, he managed to score 12 goals in 29 appearances across the whole campaign and was being linked with numerous moves to the top division.

Eventually, it was an aspiring Newcastle United who jumped at the opportunity to sign Cole and offered Bristol City a suitable fee of £1.75 million. It was gleefully accepted and, after swapping the South-West for the North-East, the striker never looked back.

Whilst the Robins were able to more than treble the money they paid for him, it must be seen as a disappointment that Cole left, as the success that followed for him was truly remarkable.

However, the forward hasn't forgotten his roots and continues to credit Bristol City to this day for the role they played in his development.

Speaking to MUTV back in 2017, Cole said: "It was massive. Personally, without this, I don't think I would have achieved what I did in my career.

"For me to come to Bristol City at that time was a massive part of my career. I am forever indebted to them, for spending that kind of money on a kid who had basically played half a game.

"£500,000 was a lot of money back then."

His time at Bristol City was unquestionably a successful one and those around the club will be proud to have played a role in one of England's greatest strikers.

Andy Cole's stunning career after leaving Bristol City

After leaving the Robins, Cole played for ten different clubs, but it was at Newcastle and Manchester United where he enjoyed the most success.

In two years in the North East, he built on the promise he had shown at BS3, scoring an incredible 68 goals in 84 games. In his only full season there, he helped secure the Geordie club European football with a third-placed finish.

Just halfway through the following season, though, he would make the jump to England's top club, Manchester United, for an at-the-time British record fee of £7 million.

In Manchester, his goal-scoring prowess would continue under the guidance of the great Alex Ferguson and in his latter years at the club he built a superb partnership with Trinidadian striker, Dwight Yorke. This partnership saw the duo score 53 goals between them in the great treble-winning season of 1998-99.

Cole continued to score frequently up until he departed the club in 2001, when he left to join Blackburn Rovers in a deal worth £8 million.

At Rovers, he was never able to hit the huge heights of his Newcastle and Manchester United days, but he still proved to be a strong addition to whoever he played for in the rest of his career.

From a distance, Bristol City must have been watching his career unfold with a great deal of enamour. To see a player that they sparingly gave an opportunity to, thrive on the biggest stage must have been special.