Top Premier league Buys

As we gradually head to the end of the transfer window let’s take a look at some of the great signings that the premier league has seen in recent years.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Arriving at Manchester United when the fans where expecting Alan Shearer, the baby-faced assassin had a lot to do to prove himself. However, 126 goals later including the famous Champions League winner against Bayern Munich, I guess it’s fair to say that the Norwegian striker gave a great introduction of himself.

Patrick Viera

For just £3.5m the French man was one of the best buys of The Professors prolific coaching career. From playing reserve football at San Siro to becoming one of Arsenal’s all-time greats with four FA Cups and Three Premier League titles.

Van Persie

I was asked recently what it took United to win the Premier League last season and I said it took a lot of brain washing from Sir Alex and £22.5m.

Very few had predicted that the forward would end up at the Theatre of Dreams, yet after 30 goals in only 48 matches in his debut campaign in the north-west, the Scot’s move for RvP was rightly considered to be the catalyst behind United retaining the Premier League that season.

Peter Schmeichel

Signed from Danish side Brondby in 1991 for just £505,000, the blond keeper went on to play 393 matches for the Red Devils in the following eight years, winning five Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the UEFA Champions League in the process.

The great Dane can rightfully lay claim to be the club’s greatest-ever goalkeeper, with manager Alex Ferguson subsequently describing Schmeichel's capture as "the bargain of the century."

Gianfranco Zola

For some still-unfathomable reason, Parma head coach Carlo Ancelotti did not rate the little Italian during their brief time working together at Emilia–Romagna in 1996, probably because he kept on insisting on utilising the playmaker as a left winger.

However, Chelsea were only too happy to take the attacking genius off the Serie A outfit’s hands in November 1996 for just £4.5m, with Zola having since gone on to be voted the Blues’ greatest-ever player by the club’s fans in 2003.

Mascherano

In the January transfer window of 2007, Reds' manager Rafa Benitez pulled off a major coup by luring the Argentina international from Upton Park to Anfield, initially on loan, before the player then agreed a four-year deal with the Merseyside giants a year later.

The total cost of the transfer, including the holding midfielder’s salary, was just £18.6m. When you consider this was the captain of the Argentina national team, it was quite some achievement by the Reds.

Ronaldo

Everyone knows the story by now of how a young Ronaldo caught the eye of United’s players during a pre-season friendly in Lisbon in the summer of 2003, with the likes of Ryan Giggs then urging manager Alex Ferguson to move fast and sign up the young Portuguese.

Luckily for the Scot, United acted with haste and beat rivals Arsenal to the wide man’s signature, with Ronaldo arriving at Old Trafford for a fee of just €15m later that summer. Six years later, he was sold on to Real Madrid for a world-record £80m.

Bergkamp

Back in 1995, big-name players from the continent just did not sign for Premier League clubs, so Arsenal’s capture of the Oranje forward in June of that year was a major coup for the Gunners.

Do not forget either that this was still the pre-Arsene Wenger era at Highbury, with Bruce Rioch at the helm in North London at the time, making it an even bigger accomplishment by the club.

And to think that the Nerazzurri were happy to let Bergkamp depart the San Siro because they had Maurizio Ganz waiting in the wings...

Makelele

The French water carrier helped los Blancos win everything there was to during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu. However, there was one major problem and that was that Makelele’s face was just not recognisable enough to sell Madrid shirts around the world.

As a result, club president Florentino Perez offloaded the holding midfielder to Chelsea in the summer of 2003 for just £16.8m, sending the player on his way with these parting words:

We will not miss Makelele. His technique is average, he lacks the speed and skill to take the ball past opponents, and ninety percent of his distribution either goes backwards or sideways.

He wasn't a header of the ball and he rarely passed the ball more than three metres. Younger players will arrive who will cause Makelele to be forgotten.

Madrid have failed to win the UEFA Champions League in the 11 years since Makelele’s departure, while at Stamford Bridge the defensive midfielder continued his reputation as the best player in his position on Planet Football.

Cantona

This was a move that happened by accident when Leeds boss Howard Wilkinson made an inquiry about United full-back Denis Irwin, only for his opposite number at the time, Alex Ferguson, then to ask whether the Frenchman was available.

To Fergie’s great surprise, United’s arch-rivals were indeed happy to let the mercurial forward move to Old Trafford, with Cantona signing for the Red Devils for just £1.2 million on Nov. 26, 1992.

And the rest, as they say, is history..

Lets see who makes the buy of the season this January. Until next time guys stay true to the Beautiful Game.