The summer of 1995 will forever be one of the most memorable in Manchester United's history. It is easily recalled by those of a certain age due to the uncertainty caused by the decision of manager Sir Alex Ferguson to part with three of the team's key players.
As has been well documented, Ferguson instead put his faith in a number of home-grown youngsters and the rest, as they say, is history.
Midfielders Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis were sold to Inter Milan and Everton respectively, while the third of that experienced trio departed Old Trafford 20 years ago today.
Mark Hughes was a boyhood Chelsea supporter, so when the West Londoners made a £1.5m bid for his services, the Welsh centre-forward was on the move having won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups, one League Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup during his two stints with United.
At the age of 32, Hughes may have been approaching his veteran years, yet he still went on to contribute to what was a successful period for the Blues.
In the three seasons that followed his arrival at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea finished 11th, sixth and then fourth, with Hughes scoring 25 Premier League goals.
During that time, Chelsea won the FA Cup, League Cup and Cup Winners' Cup, with Hughes finding the net at crucial periods in each of those runs, including semi-final goals against Wimbledon, Arsenal and Vicenza.
Yet, at the age of 35 and with the likes of Gianfranco Zola, Tore Andre Flo, Gianluca Vialli, Pierluigi Casiraghi and the emerging Mikael Forsell providing competition for his position up front, Hughes was sold to Southampton for £650,000 in the summer of 1998.
Hughes, who is now the manager of Stoke City, recently reflected on his three years as a Chelsea player during a press conference.
"I had three really good years there, at the start of the modern day times for them. They were beginning to become one of the big teams in the country then," he said.
"I joined with Ruud Gullit and then Vialli and Zola came in too. I would like to think I played a small part in the beginnings of the journey they have been on.
"I've not won there as manager but I always enjoy going back to Stamford Bridge. It was a good place for me and I have many good memories."
In total, Hughes scored 39 goals during his 123 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea.
Liam Apicella
