Stan Collymore has admitted that may have been a better fit for him than off the field.

A prolific striker on his day, made his way to Anfield in 1995 after a successful two-year stint with , but he could have found himself donning a completely different shade of red. Speaking exclusive to via ahead of Wednesday night's , the 54-year-old explained: "When I signed for Liverpool I spoke to at the same time.

" was the manager at the time and it could have gone either way. I was really impressed with Joe Royle as a person, as a human, and as a coach. He wanted me to play up front with , which would have been a very tasty prospect – and Everton had a very good team then.

"But I knew several of the lads from Liverpool, so that’s why I chose Liverpool. But prior to that, it was on/off for virtually all of my second season at Nottingham Forest in the . Scored 25 goals in my second season, 35 in my first season, but it was on/off – would I go to , wouldn’t I?

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

"And because my agent was Paul Stretford – that was also agent – Paul Stretford very cleverly managed to engineer that Andy Cole went from to Man United and me, as his other star client, went from Forest to Liverpool. So he made significant amounts of money on both deals."

Asked whether he has any longstanding regrets about not signing for Everton or United, Collymore added: "Look, I played for Liverpool, most successful club in the country, could go on and win a and double, so I’ve certainly now got no regrets for playing for Liverpool Club."

However, he does look back on his decision with a bit of a 'what could have been' mentality under . He said: "But I think that if I’d have joined Fergie’s United at the time - which like I say nearly happened – I think I would have won a lot more, and I think that my off-field issues, health issues, mental health issues, ups and downs, would have been less pronounced – because I think he would have been a better man manager. So yeah.

"I remember as well, were interested for a little while, before they bought . Very lucky that throughout my career I played for big clubs, but had several that wanted me to go there as well."

Collymore scored 35 goals and provided 16 assists over his two year stint with Liverpool, before signing for his boyhood club of in 1997. The striker spent three years with the Villains before moving on to , and – before hanging his boots up in March 2001.

Everton and Liverpool, meanwhile, are set to meet in the Premier League for the first Merseyside derby of the season – and the last ever at Goodison Park. The two sides were initially slated to play one another at the start of December, but the game was ultimately postponed when Storm Darragh hit the shores of the UK.

Table-toppers Liverpool will hope to bounce back following a 1-0 loss to bottom of the Championship Plymouth Argyle in the on Sunday. Meanwhile, Everton down in 16th will be desperate to get some more points on the board in their battle to avoid relegation. They're nine points clear of the drop zone at present following a dismal first half of the campaign which saw the side taste victory on just six occasions, but has steadied the ship since returning.

and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our