Scott Parker is currently at the top of his game. The reigning Writers Player of the Year has cemented his place in England’s midfield and won Novembers Premier League player of the month. But what perhaps makes this even more impressive is that Harry Redknapp and Spurs paid just £5million for his services this summer. Shrewd business no doubt but is it the best (bargain) transfer in Premier League history? The below deals may have something to say about that…
Kevin Davies’ career had stalled during his time at Southampton. Once touted as one of England’s next big stars, Davies was allowed to move to Bolton Wanderers for no fee. Over 8 years and 298 appearances later he is still the inspirational captain of Bolton and at 33 finally earned that 1st England cap.
Once seen as a consistent performer in the Championship, Everton’s Tim Cahill is now one of the more consistent performers in the Premier League. The attacking midfielder was bought from Millwall for just £1.5million.
Despite Manchester United winning the treble in 1999, the PFA Player of the Year actually went to David Ginola of Tottenham. Spurs had paid Newcastle just £2m for the cultured French winger and a string of terrific individual performances saw him ranked as one of the best in the world on his day.
In 1997 Sunderland paid Watford £350,000 for striker Kevin Phillips, who went on to score 113 goals in 208 appearances before leaving for Southampton 6 years later. How much would Sunderland pay for a striker with that kind of goal scoring record today?
1997 also saw Aston Villa pay £50,000 for a 16 year old defensive midfielder called Gareth Barry. He went onto make 365 appearances and cement an England place during his time with Villa before a big money move to Manchester City in 2009.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer probably justified his transfer fee in one game after his infamous winner in the 1999 Champions League final. But the Norwegian striker, who moved from Molde to Manchester United for £1.5million also enjoyed a hugely successful 14 year spell as a player and a coach, and is still revered at Old Trafford as a cult hero.
Zat Knight left Fulham after a decent 8 year spell to join Aston Villa in a £3.5million deal. A fairly unremarkable transfer for a fairly unremarkable sum of money. But the fact that in 1999 Fulham paid Rushall Olympic the princely sum of 30 tracksuits for Knight makes the £3.5million recouped a little more sensational.
It would be hard to talk about the Premier Leagues best deals without mentioning Arsène Wenger. Arsène brought in long time captain Patrick Viera from AC Milan for £3.5million pounds in 1996 before signing Kolo Touré from ASEC Mimosas in 2002 for just £150,000. But arguably Wenger’s best was Nicholas Anelka.
After signing from PSG for £500,000 the notoriously difficult striker was sold on to Real Madrid for £22million just two years later. These are some of the highlights of Wengers reign, but there are really just too many mention. Even Mr’s Henry, Petit and Overmars don’t get a look in!
All of the above can go down as fantastic pieces of business by the managers in question. But maybe none of them meant more to the future of their club than what Eric Cantona would mean to Manchester United.
United already seemed set for great things under Sir Alex Ferguson when Cantona joined from bitter rivals Leeds United. But the leadership, ability and overall impact of the mercurial Frenchman cannot be underestimated. Solidifying United as a dominant force in English football during his time there. The instantly recognisable frontman made 144 appearances, scoring 64 goals, during his spell with the reds.
And his impact is such that it is easy to forget that he was only a Manchester United player for 5 years, choosing to retire in 1997 as a new breed of stars were beginning to emerge at Old Trafford. Sir Alex has consistently managed to build on this early success and remain at the forefront of English football. But it can’t be denied that the signing of Cantona helped kick start the most successful spell in the clubs history. Considering the importance that Cantona had towards this success, the £1.2 million that was paid seems good value indeed.
A list like this can never be conclusive. Any footballing ‘best of’ list will be open to interpretation so let the discussion begin between you and your friends, family or work colleagues. The beauty part is that, come January, we will have a whole new batch of signings to discuss.