Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli spent big during the summer of 1999 in a bid to turn his side into genuine title contenders.

A reported £3m was used to recruit France's World Cup winning midfielder Didier Deschamps from Juventus, while a hefty £10m was shelled out to tempt Blackburn Rovers into parting with Chris Sutton.

Mario Melchiot, Gabriele Ambrosetti, Emerson Thome, Jes Hogh and Carlo Cudicini also checked in at Stamford Bridge.

However, it was the January 2000 arrival of a former World and European Footballer of the Year that really whetted the appetite of the Chelsea faithful.

Having started his career in his native Liberia, George Weah went on to have success in France with Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain before clinching two Serie A titles with AC Milan.

It was with the Rossoneri that he scored one of his most memorable goals against Verona, running virtually the entire length of the pitch in the process.

Yet, he had been deemed surplus to requirements at the San Siro for the 1999-00 campaign, paving the way for him to join the Blues just after the turn of the millennium. In fact, he put pen to paper on the deal late on January 11 and was immediately made a part of the squad for the home clash with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 14 years ago today.

Spurs made the trip from North to West London having not got the better of the Blues in their last 20 attempts, but they started this contest brightly. Even so, the likes of Chris Armstrong, Justin Edinburgh, Darren Anderton and Steffen Iversen were all guilty of failing to convert presentable opportunities.

Chelsea boss Vialli reacted in the 56th minute by bringing Weah off the bench for his debut, with the striker replacing an ineffective Tore Andre Flo. His arrival was met with large cheers from the home supporters, who would be signing his name come the final whistle.

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It appeared that the match was heading for a 0-0 draw when with three minutes left to play, Dennis Wise sent over a cross towards the back post, which Weah leapt above Stephen Clemence and Stephen Carr to meet and guided the header beyond the reach of Spurs goalkeeper Ian Walker to secure all three points for his new club.

"It's a good beginning. I'm hoping to do great things in London and I'm very happy that Gianluca believes in me," Weah said after the match, with Vialli adding: "It's the best possible start for him and the team. He's such a great player and he wants to show he's one of the best strikers in the world and that Milan were wrong to let him go."

Weah went on to score five goals in 15 appearances and also featured during Chelsea's FA Cup success at the expense of Aston Villa. It wasn't enough to convince Vialli to sign on a permanent basis, though, and later that summer he joined Manchester City on a free transfer.

CHELSEA: De Goey; Leboeuf, Lambourde, Thome, Terry; Harley, Petrescu; Wise, Di Matteo, Poyet (Sutton); Flo (Weah)

TOTTENHAM: Walker; Carr, Campbell, Perry, Edinburgh; Anderton, Clemence, Sherwood, Ginola; Armstrong, Iversen