'I told Sir Alex Ferguson I'd help force Man Utd transfer – he hung up the phone immediately'

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Former Premier League star Kieron Dyer has revealed how he agreed to "kick up some noise" at Newcastle United in his bid to secure a move to Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United . Dyer was at his brilliant best at St. James' Park when Ferguson came calling - quite literally.

The Old Trafford legend was one of numerous bosses who tried to sign Dyer during his early days playing in England's top flight. The ex-midfielder narrowly missed out on Premier League promotion with Ipswich Town in 1999 when a host of top clubs were chasing his signature.

Dyer was quizzed about which sides were keen to snap him up from Ipswich and told the Open Goal podcast : " Juventus , I know Arsenal , I know Newcastle because Ruud Gullit rung me, I know Leeds because David O'Leary rung me, I know West Ham because Harry Redknapp rung me all when I'm in Ayia Napa, steaming, so I'm thinking, 'What a time to ring!'

"Everyone talks about your journey but what is so great is taking your friends on the journey with you. Can you imagine, I've got Ruud Gullit on the phone [in front of my friends] and I'm going, 'it's Ruud!'"

Regarding Ferguson's pursuit of the player, Dyer disclosed just how far the Scot went to test his ambition for the move. And Dyer, who was already at Newcastle by then, was so excited by the prospect that he agreed to help his suitors if it meant joining forces at Old Trafford.

"There was a time with Man United when I was at Newcastle and my agent rings me and goes, 'I'm now putting you on speaker phone,'" he continued. "I'm at the airport at New York me and Titus [Bramble] are coming back to England.

"[My agent] says, 'You're now going to hear a few voices', the first voice was Pini Zahavi who was the 'super agent', he was Rio [Ferdinand's] agent then the next voice was, 'Hi Kieron, it's Sir Alex,' so I'm like [gestures mouthing Sir Alex Ferguson while pointing at the phone].

"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.'

"The second was, '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."

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Hardly the kind of encouraging reaction Dyer might have anticipated after confirming he'd commit one of football's most heinous crimes. Yet the gaffer may well have been cautious about appearing overly committed by offering a glowing endorsement of Dyer's willingness.

Ultimately, the transfer fell through. United tabled a £15million offer for Dyer but saw their approach knocked back when they were unwilling to match Newcastle's reported £25m asking price. He racked up 250 appearances for the Magpies, even earning a spot in the Premier League Team of the Year after the 2002/03 campaign.

Dyer later donned the jerseys of QPR and Middlesbrough before hanging up his boots at the Riverside in 2013. With no major silverware to his name from his playing career, he might wonder whether things would have been different had he secured that move to United all those years ago.