The 53-year-old former footballer was instantly awed by the Frenchman when he signed for the club in July 1995 as not only was he very handsome but he was a skilled player and a “great lad” too.

He told FourFourTwo magazine: “I definitely questioned my sexuality when David arrived. He was gorgeous.

“He could have worn a black bin liner and looked stunning.

“Not only that, but he was a brilliant footballer and a great lad.

“He bought into the team ethos straight away.

“Lee Clark uses to call him Dave, which he didn’t like – it had to be ‘Dav-eed’ with that French pronunciation – but he was such a good sport.”

And Steve recalled how the entire squad were blown away by David’s talent from his first training session.

He said: “Our training sessions had an intense tempo and new players would get found out quickly – we’d test them by pinging difficult balls into them. David just made a mockery of it.

“His touch was so immaculate, he’d not only control it but he’d beat a man and then wrap one into the stanchion.

“I remember Scott Sellars, who played in David’s position, watching that first session and saying, ‘F****** hell lads, that’s me out of the team.”