Back in the summer of 1996, Leeds United made a handful of pivotal signings that would shape the club over the next few years. Lee Bowyer was crucial, arriving from Charlton Athletic as a teenager.
Bowyer would go on to have a wonderful few years at Elland Road and play a key role in Leeds getting to the Champions League. Lee Sharpe, Robert Molenaar and Ian Rush were also among Leeds’ signings.
As was goalkeeper Nigel Martyn. Leeds paid a fee north of £2m to sign Martyn from Crystal Palace, after a couple of relegations at Selhurst Park and the move saw Martyn go on to play 265 times for The Whites.
It was also a spell that saw Martyn become a regular in the England squad, clocking up the majority of his 23 England caps while playing for Leeds. But it could have been completely different, back in 1996.
Nigel Martyn says he wanted to join Everton over Leeds United
Martyn starred for Leeds between the sticks, clocking up 105 clean sheets in his 265 games. But it almost never happened and indeed if Martyn had got his way, he would have joined Everton back in 1996.
Indeed, the Leeds icon told Undr The Cosh that he was actually on his way up the motorway to join The Toffees from Crystal Palace and only a bizarre series of events saw him actually join Leeds that summer.
“We were driving up the motorway to sign for Everton in ’96. They’d got everything organised, so we drove up. Joe Royle’s wife wasn’t there as she was quite poorly at the time, the chairman was away on business so it was just the director there to do the deal,” Martyn recalled.
“My agent said before we say anything, Leeds have matched the bid, it’s in Nigel’s interest to speak to them as well. The director said ‘oh, well come in’. He said ‘well I thought you were coming to sign’ and we said, ‘well so did we but this has happened’. He said, let me make a call.
“He said we have a press conference organised for tomorrow, my agent said Nigel is going to talk to Leeds but Everton is his preferred destination. The director made another call and said, if you’re going to go you’ve got to go soon because it’s going to get really busy. It was strange,” Martyn continued.
“My agent said, they should have said this is your improved contract, sign this and you don’t go. He said go and talk to Leeds. Howard Wilkinson was there and Leeds were the exact opposite. They said ‘you’re signing for us’. Leeds really did everything they could. Joe Royle wouldn’t have let that happen.”
Martyn’s emotional interview with LeedsUnited.News in 2021
Back in 2021, we spoke to the former England stopper about the murders of Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight ahead of the first leg of the 2000-01 UEFA Cup semi-final against Galatasaray, away from home.
Two Leeds fans that are still remembered by the club to this day. Martyn played for Leeds the night after their deaths, and in an interview with LeedsUnited.News, Martyn emotionally recalled the event.
“As I sit here now, with you, it is probably my biggest regret in football that we even played that game. I would rather have forfeited it. Football is probably even more now, than it was then, so important in people’s lives. But two guys got murdered. That is far more important than football.”
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
