Having established himself as a youngster in the Chelsea first-team in 1995, the midfielder was holidaying with his family in Cornwall when the phone rang. The news was surprising. The Blues had signed Ruud Gullit, and now they had agreed an £800,000 deal with Crystal Palace for Hopkin’s signature.
Palace, tipped off by former Eagle Peter Nicholas – who was manager the Chelsea Academy at the time – had acted fast, and now Hopkin had a decision to make.
His phone rang again. “Look,” said Chelsea boss Glenn Hoddle on the other end of the line. “We’re signing Ruud Gullit. We need the money.
“There are no other young players at the club who we can get a signing-on fee from for his wages. I think it’ll be a fantastic move for you, you’ll go there and play regular football. It’s a step back towards playing in the Premier League.’”
It was a gamble, but one which paid off – soon, after that glorious day in 1997, Hopkin was back in the top flight where he belonged.
“[The ‘96 play-off final was] devastating because we’d worked so hard, finished third in the league and that year was disappointing,” Hopkin recalled a few years ago. “I remember sitting in the changing room thinking: ‘We can go again next year.’ My motivation was to get back to Wembley and right a few wrongs.
