Former Bristol City striker Andy Cole has been included among the 25-man shortlist for the next batch of inductees into the Premier League Hall of Fame.
Cole, who scored 25 goals in 49 appearances for the Robins between 1992 and 1993 following a club record £500,000 transfer from Arsenal, has claimed his spell at Ashton Gate kick-started his career before moves to Newcastle United and Manchester United thrust him into stardom.
Cole starred in the Premier League across 16 seasons, scoring 187 times - third on the all-time list - and won the title five times with Manchester United, before retiring in 2008. He has previously said of his time at City, "Personally, without this, I don't think I would have achieved what I did in my career. For me to come to Bristol City at that time was a massive part of my career.
"I am forever indebted to them, for spending that kind of money on a kid who had basically played half a game. £500,000 was a lot of money back then."
Fans now have the chance to vote the 50-year-old into the Hall of Fame with six players from the shortlist to join Wayne Rooney and Patrick Vieira who follow on from Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Dennis Bergkamp, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham in previous years.
The shortlist also includes Cole's teammates at Manchester United, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, Teddy Sheringham and Gary Neville, plus Arsenal icons Tony Adams, Ian Wright and Sol Campbell, and Chelsea trio Petr Cech, Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba.
The shortlist was compiled by the Premier League based on the career statistics of players who meet the Hall of Fame selection criteria. The career statistics analysed include the number of appearances, goals, assists, clean sheets and individual and team honours.
Tony Adams, Sergio Aguero, Sol Campbell, Petr Cech, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Les Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Vincent Kompany, Matthew Le Tissier, Gary Neville, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Michael Owen, Robin van Persie, Edwin van der Sar, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, Teddy Sheringham, John Terry, Yaya Touré, Nemanja Vidic and Ian Wright.
Fans can vote at www.premierleague.com/halloffame and via the official Premier League app. Voting is open until 9pm on Sunday 3 April, with the six inductees to be announced later next month.
SIGN UP: For our daily Robins newsletter, bringing you the latest from Ashton Gate
