Hassan Kachloul bought out his own contract from his previous French club FC Metz, which meant that after impressing David Jones during a short trial period, he was able to negotiate his own transfer and a two-and-a-half-year contract was the outcome.

But it nearly didn’t happen at all because just prior to joining Metz he – having dual nationality – had been called up by the French Army. Fearing it was the end of his footballing career he hatched a plan to persuade medical staff that he was mad (MASH-style). He refused food and drink and eventually fooled a psychiatrist into writing him off. Speaking in 2000 he admitted “so I did some bad things…..I went to the hospital to see a specialist, it was horrible I felt bad because there were a lot of really sick people.” He was a more-than-useful acquisition as he was full of flailing twists and turns, often put to good use on the left flank.

He could pass, tackle, shoot and had plenty of stamina, frequently arriving late in the penalty area to claim vital goals.

Although popular with his colleagues, who nicknamed him “Forrest Gump” because of his non-stop running, and the fans alike, things went unfortunately sour when, with his contract running out in the summer of 2001, new terms could not be agreed and it became obvious that he preferred to take advantage of the Bosman ruling and find himself another club. Nevertheless in his last game, which was the last competitive match ever played at The Dell, he scored twice to leave on a high. At first it seemed the entertaining Moroccan international had opted for Ipswich but in a last minute change of heart he joined Aston Villa — a move that did not work out too happily as he struggled for a regular place under Graham Taylor. In 2005 and a free agent he signed for Scottish club Livingstone on amateur terms as it was outside the transfer window.

However a Scottish Premier League enquiry found he had been paid and Livingstone were fined £15,000 and censured. The fact that he was a free agent and therefore entitled to sign when he did saved Livingstone from a heftier punishment. In 2013 there were reports on the internet that Hassan had become a property developer although in 2019 he was a director of Sport Profile Ltd based in Birmingham.