Dani
A skilled attacking player, Daniel da Cruz Carvalho arrived at West Ham on loan from Sporting Lisbon in 1996 - becoming the first Portuguese player to feature in the Premier League in the process.
His time in east London was fleeting - but memorable - his two goals in nine appearances came in victories over Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Nevertheless, the 19-year-old Dani, who also had a fondness for London’s nightlife scene, returned to his parent club at the end of the 1995/96 campaign, and after featuring for his country at the Atlanta Olympics that summer, joined Ajax.
Spells with Benfica and Atlético Madrid - and nine senior Portugal caps - would follow, but there would be a sense of unfulfilled talent at the end of the mercurial Dani’s career.
Paulo Futre, Hugo Porfirio, Paulo Alves
The Irons’ dalliance with Dani led to a relative opening of the floodgates for his fellow countrymen to arrive through the Boleyn Ground doors, as three more Portuguese were signed by Harry Redknapp over the next two years.
Paulo Futre and Hugo Porfirio were signed at the start of the 1996/97 season - Futre having earned 41 senior caps and won league titles in his homeland and Italy during a glittering career, and Porfirio, while at the other end of his footballing journey, had already shown his talent with Sporting.
While neither hit those heights in east London, they did make 32 league appearances between them before moving on at the end of the campaign, when another Portuguese, Paulo Alves - also of Sporting - was signed by Redknapp.
His Hammers loan spell would encompass four games, and he later managed several clubs in his homeland, winning the second-tier title twice, with Gil Vicente and Moreirense.