Poyet Impresses On Tour

The Uruguayan ,39, could be lined up for a playing comeback after featuring in midfield in each of United's two games on their current break in Cyprus.

They were beaten 3-0 by former Chelsea man Dan Petrescu's Romanian Liga 1 team Unirea Urziceni but Poyet scored a great volley as Leeds drew 1-1 with local side Ethnikos Achas yesterday, proving he has lost none of the moves and touches which graced the top-flight with both Chelsea and Tottenham.

Poyet was skipper of the Zaragoza side that beat Arsenal in the 1995 Cup Winners' Cup final, he scored 60 goals in 240 games for the club, before joining Chelsea on a free transfer in June 1997.

He suffered cruciate ligament damage early in the season but recovered in time to play in Chelsea's Cup Winners' Cup final win over Stuttgart.

The following year he scored 14 goals, including a header in the 1-0 win against Leeds, making him the club's second highest scorer as Chelsea finished third in the Premiership.

In 1999/2000, he notched another 18 goals, including a scissors-kick volley against Sunderland, a long range strike against Lazio and both of Chelsea's goals in the FA Cup semi-final against Newcastle among the highlights, as the team won the FA Cup and reached the Champions League quarter-finals.

He became surplus to requirements with the arrival of new boss Claudio Ranieri and moved across London to Spurs for about £2.2m, having scored an impressive 49 goals in 145 games.

Poyet scored 14 goals in his debut season for Spurs and helped them reach the League Cup final. But his time at the club was hit by injuries. He again sustained cruciate ligament damage in August 2002 but still managed 23 goals in 98 games.

Capped 23 times by Uruguay, Poyet could yet assist Leeds' chances of survival.