It had been mooted on and off over the last five years but - when it happened - the return of the local hero came out of the blue, and Deano didn't need asking twice when he was offered a loan deal from League One Bradford City to aid the Tigers' Championship survival challenge for the remainder of the 2006-07 season.

In fact, it's the third coming to the Tiger ranks of one of Hull's footballing finest.

It seemed his dreams of becoming a professional footballer were over before they'd begun when he was released after two years of his YTS stint at Boothferry Park due to him being thought to be too small.

Dean hauled himself off the scrapheap by playing for non-league outfit North Ferriby United and working on local building sites.

As his strength and skills developed, a number of Football League clubs showed an interest. Sunderland went as far as offering him a trial.

But Hull was where the Windass heart was and he duly returned to the Boothferry ranks under Terry Dolan in October 1991.

205 games and 64 goals later, with his legendary status already assured, Dean was responsible for a very different sort of survival.

Following consecutive seasons when Deano's goals and brilliant performances had maintained Play-Off challenges in the Second Division (now League One), City's financial problems took their toll in 1995-96. Relegation was relatively good news.

Two weeks after a controversial £250,000 loan from Humberside County Council-owned Wastewise had fended off a winding-up order from the Inland Revenue at the High Court in London, Deano was sold to Aberdeen for a reported £600,000. Norwich City offered £750,000 but with payments over three instalments.

His second stint with the Tigers came to an end on 28 November 1995 against Blackpool in the Auto Windscreen Shield at a ramshackle Boothferry Park in front of a crowd of only 1,422.

On the day he returned for his third spell in January 2007, the Tigers of the future played a FA Youth Cup tie at the splendid KC Stadium before an attendance of 3,748. How times had changed!

While the Tigers stumbled from crisis to crisis (up to the arrival of Adam Pearson), Deano's rags to riches story continued.

With a burgeoning reputation during his time at Pittodrie, Deano earned a move back to the Football League with First Division Oxford United in August 1998. The £475,000 fee remains a Us' club record.

Twelve months later, Deano was making his long-awaited Premiership bow at the age of 30 with Bradford City. He joined the Bantams in March 1999 for £950,000.

With Bradford's Premiership days drawing to a close in March 2001, Deano extended his top flight life with a £600,000 switch to Middlesbrough.

Spells at both Sheffield clubs followed before he returned to Bradford City in June 2003. Although considered to be in the advanced veteran stage, amazingly, the evergreen striker has since netted another 66 goals since returning to Valley Parade.

His surprise change from claret and amber to amber and black was largely due to the injury sustained by another returned Hull hero - Nicky Barmby.

To rapturous applause from the travelling Tigers fans, Deano made the 650^th appearance of his senior career when coming as a first-half sub in the 1-1 draw at Peter Taylor's Crystal Palace on 20 January 2007 to make his second City debut.

At 37 years 294 days, he became the Tigers third oldest-ever debutant behind Andy Hessenthaler (39 years 168 days in February 2005) and Billy Newton (38 years 107 days in August 1931).

Deano pledged to score the goals that would keep the Tigers in the Championship - and he didn't disappoint. He finished as their top scorer with eight goals so, with his 12 for Bradford, reaching the 20-goal mark for the third consecutive season.

To complete the fairytale, he hit the winner at CardiffCity in the final away game of the season to effectively ensure the Tigers' survival.

A permanent move for £150,000 was agreed at the end of the season, with a two-year contract that will take Dean past his 40th birthday.