Roy Keane is making an amazing move to sign his old Manchester United pal Andrew Cole and reunite him with Dwight Yorke.
And far-travelled Cole is prepared to take on the challenge at Sunderland - although it will mean playing for the biggest enemy of Newcastle, one of his favourite former clubs.
Stadium of Light chief Keane hopes to get his man on a free transfer this weekend as Cole sorts out a severance payment with Portsmouth after a miserable year under Fratton Park manager Harry Redknapp when he was left on the sidelines.
Cole, who will be 36 in October, feels he still has a season or more in the top flight left in him and he wants to go to Sunderland to prove it. He may not be a regular starter, but his goals could yet be vital in their survival fight.
It is an astonishing twist in the veteran marksman's career, but no surprise as Keane has been looking to his former club for players he knows and trusts - after signing Kieran Richardson and Paul McShane, as well as Yorke. Ironically, Cole and Yorke had their best times together as mates at United before teaming up, less spectacularly, under Graeme Souness at Blackburn.
Keane has been throwing the cash around this summer, but this free transfer could be one of the most remarkable of all of his wheeler-dealings.
