The pair both featured against us for Blackburn on Saturday, but at the time were members of a successful Galatasaray side.
Shepherd recalled: "Immediately after our UEFA Cup tie with Zurich in September 1999 Freddie Fletcher and myself left Switzerland the next morning and flew straight to Turkey.
"We went to Istanbul and talked to the Galatasaray people about signing both Sukur and Tugay but we could not agree a fee on either and we came home empty-handed."
Tugay went on to enjoy a successful spell at Rangers before arriving at Ewood Park, while Sukur suffered miserable periods with Inter and Parma.
There can be little doubt that Tugay is a talented player who could have done a good job for us, but Sukur seems only to have been able to produce his best form when in Istanbul.
Seems like we have had a lucky escape from the Bull of the Bosphorus.