The tales of missed transfers, ones that got away and scouting mistakes are plentiful, especially when it comes to Newcastle United. While the recruitment team may be getting most things right at the minute, it hasn't always been that way.

Tony Jiminez and Mike Ashley turning down Luka Modric when Kevin Keegan wanted him. “He hopped on a train to Newcastle and all we had to do was sell the club to him," said Keegan. "Mr Jimenez said ‘I’ve watched him, I don’t think he is big enough or strong enough to play in the Premier League.’ That was the end of that, he killed it stone-dead.”

Then there's Bastian Schweinsteiger, who was identified as a target by Keegan, who felt he could sign the Bayern Munich man in a cut-price deal, only for Newcastle - again with Jiminez and Dennis Wise at the helm - to instead sign Nacho Gonzalez, allegedly on the strength of a YouTube video.

READ MORE: Ruthless Jacob Murphy hooking explained as Newcastle United star makes brutal demand

READ MORE: Newcastle United sent Alexander Isak transfer warning as Erling Haaland contract point made

Keegan had an eye for a player, no doubt at all. And in both his spells at Newcastle he was prominent in transfers, bringing some of the greatest talents on offer to Tyneside. Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand, David Ginola and Tino Asprilla all lit up St James' Park.

However, perhaps the biggest one to get away was a man who went on to become one of the greatest players the world has ever seen: Zinedine Zidane. The tale has been told a number of times, but agent Barry Silkman has revisited it in his new autobiography The Not So Secret Football Agent, published by Reach Sport.

Silkman writes: "There are plenty of tales of what could have been, what should have been and what didn’t happen along the way when it comes to trying to place players at certain clubs – including some that will leave you scratching your head. Some of the players involved went on to become world superstars, but at the time of the proposed deals, they weren’t that well known, meaning clubs could have bought multi-million pound talent for peanuts.

"I was alerted to the talents of a 24-year-old attacking midfielder at Bordeaux and went along to watch him. His name was Zinedine Zidane, and it took me about five minutes to decide that this guy was going to be something very special.

"I had brought a number of good players to Newcastle United under Kevin Keegan’s reign and every one of them was a success, so Zidane felt like the perfect fit for a Keegan team.

"It was 7 January, 1996, and I told Kevin he could sign Zidane for £1.2million – it was a steal. I begged Kevin to sign him, but in the end he told me his chief scout thought he wasn’t good enough and years later, Kevin told me he should have listened to me instead of his scout. Zidane eventually signed for Juventus and the rest is history.

"More than 20 years later, Kevin would tell me I was the best agent he ever came across – the only good one in his opinion. Nice words from a top man who I always got along really well with over the years.

"I wish I’d kept the fax that was sent on to me from Newcastle United where the chief scout stated, ‘Silky has grossly overrated the player. At best he is good enough for Wolves who are bottom of the Championship at present.’

"I think Zidane was slightly better than the players in a struggling Wolves team!"

Barry Silkman: The Not So Secret Football Agent, published by Reach Sport, is on sale now on Amazon and in all good bookshops.