Pranav Nair
Gary Neville names the top five Manchester United signings from the Premier League era
Speaking on Sky Sports (h/t Manchester Evening News), Gary Neville has given his verdict regarding the five top Manchester United signings during the Premier League era.
The Red Devils’ legend has played alongside some of the best names to don the famous red shirt and it comes as no surprise that five of his former teammates make the cut. Surprisingly, there was no place for Bruno Fernandes.
The obvious choices!
As expected both Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney both make the cut and are at the top of Neville’s all-time United squad. The former is one of the best players in football history while the latter is the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.
“Up front in my all-time United team that I played with, I have Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.”
The top choice!
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Neville has picked Eric Cantona as the best signing the club has made. The Frenchman was signed from arch-rivals Leeds United and paved the way for our early dominance in the Premier League.
Despite spending just five seasons at Old Trafford, Cantona left behind a legacy that is still remembered to this day. Not a player shorn of controversy, Cantona also delivered on the pitch.
“To get a player off Leeds for £1.2m that takes you to the league title. It has to be the best signing – it’s unbelievable because he’s an unbelievable player as well.”
The battlers and the bruisers!
As a bargain signing, Cantona was far from the only one. Roy Keane was secured from Nottingham Forest in 1993 and quickly established himself as a leader and enforcer.
His tough persona at times masks the incredible footballing ability he brought to the team. United won four league titles under his captaincy.
Last but not least is defensive lynchpin Nemanja Vidic. Signed in January 2006, little did we know he would go on to become one of the finest players to don the United jersey. The Serbian is to this day spoken of as the ideal centre-back. How we could have done with him today.
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While Neville’s list consists of household names, it also leaves out the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Patrice Evra and even Edwin van der Sar amongst others.
It is a testament to the teams that Sir Alex Ferguson built that none of these stars even made Neville’s list. The standards set by United are high and hopefully, the likes of Bruno Fernandes and co will strive to meet them in the coming seasons.
