Brian Kidd signed a 21-year-old Matt Jansen from Crystal Palace on this day back in 1999!
Jansen, who arrived from Crystal Palace, scored 57 goals in 182 appearances for Rovers, including the winner at Preston North End which secured Rovers’ promotion back to the Premier League in 2001, as well as the opener in the 2002 Worthington Cup final.
After blasting us back to the top flight, his fine season earned a place in Sven Goran-Eriksson’s England squad on the back of a 16-goal season.
Jansen was widely tipped to be part of England’s squad at the 2002 World Cup, but Eriksson instead surprised many with his conservative selection of Martin Keown over the rising star.
While England battled it out in the Far East, Jansen took a holiday to Rome, where he was involved a serious traffic accident. He suffered a brain haemorrhage and slipped into a six-day coma.
Jansen survived and, astonishingly, he was back playing for Rovers just four months later.
