A remarkable story in itself. But his determination to get into the team ... and staying there ... brought him to loggerheads with then manager Kevin Keegan. What could have been a magic Newcastle career didn't happen, and Thompson moved on.
He has won many medals, been capped by England, but a fall out with Celtic boss Gordon Strachan could surprisingly see him in the Championship with Leeds United. Leeds assistant manager Gus Poyet has revealed the Championship strugglers are "quite close" to signing the Celtic midfielder.
The 33-year-old, who has scored 37 goals in 158 appearances for Celtic.
Poyet: "I hope we can have him. Things are very close and hopefully we will have news before the day is out.
"We've been looking for a couple of weeks and it's quite close. It's a case of medicals and things and we hope to have him training. We hope he is with us and we're looking forward to maybe seeing him in a Leeds United shirt.
"We've been trying hard to get him and if everything is done it wil be magnificent. They are the kind of players you want to see at Leeds."