Leeds United spent £12m on Liverpool legend but we only saw flashes of true talent

Leeds United were never going to see the best of Robbie Fowler following his shock £12m move from Liverpool, with the Reds legend arriving at Elland Road already less mobile than in his Anfield prime.

The Whites brought the goalscoring Scouser to Yorkshire in 2001 with David O'Leary's side looking to keep up the pace with Manchester United and Arsenal at the top end of the Premier League. Leeds goalkeeper at the time, Nigel Martyn, knew just how good Fowler was, having faced him for Liverpool on many occasions.

But the former England shot-stopper revealed it sooner became apparent that one of the reasons Liverpool were willing to sell the striker was that a hip injury had restricted his mobillity, meaning he couldn't hit the heights of his Anfield career, where he had blasted 171 goals in 330 appearances.

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“The thinking was we had got to third in the League, we want to challenge Manchester United and Arsenal and to do that we needed to buy players," Martyn told the Undr the Cosh podcast. "We had spent a lot. We bought Robbie Fowler but you’ve got to ask why are Liverpool selling to a rival?

"He was a great footballer, but it was a lot of money. I’ve been on the receiving end of Robbie many times in a Liverpool shirt, he could score goals for fun.

“But he came to us with a hip injury and his mobility wasn’t as good as it could have been. We saw in flashes of how good he was, in a Leeds shirt. But he wasn’t as mobile as he was and Liverpool saw that.”

Fowler spent just a season and a half at Leeds before moving back to the North West with Manchester City. However, he still managed to bag 14 goals in 33 appearances in a United shirt. After a four-year stint with Man City, he rejoined Liverpool before spells with Cardiff City, Blackburn, North Queensland Fury, Perth Glory and a final move to Muangthong United in Thailand.