Pienaar, Cantona, Cahill, Schmeichel, Vieira and the top 10 Premier League bargain buys of all-time
Steven Pienaar looks like being the bargain of the January transfer window after Spurs snaffled him under the noses of Chelsea for just £3million.
That looks to be money well spent on Everton's South African international midfield star, but he'll do well to match the achievements of this bunch of baragins...
10) Shay Given: Blackburn to Newcastle (£1.5m)
The 34-year-old keeper has been one of the Premier League's most consistent performers for more than a decade. During his time in the north-east he became one of the most highly-rated stoppers in the Premier League and played in 354 games between 1997 and 2009. Hard to believe he’s now getting splinters in his bum at Manchester City.
9) Rafael Van Der Vaart: Real Madrid to Tottenham (£8m)
Most people might doubt the wisdom of an £8million signing being classed as a steal, but Van der Vaart has proved himself to be worth his weight in gold in his first half a season at White Hart Lane. The creator-in-chief in Harry Redknapp’s team of entertainers, the Dutchman has made a mockery of those who doubted his talents following a less than happy two year spell at Real Madrid.
8) Nicolas Anelka: Paris St Germain to Arsenal (£500,000)
No-one in this country (expect obviously Arsene Wenger) had heard of Anelka when the Arsenal boss forked out just half a million pounds to lure him from Paris to north London in February 1997. By the time he left for Real Madrid just two and a half years later, with Premier League and FA Cup winners’ medal in his pocket, everyone knew who he was. Especially as, for a fee of £22.3million, Arsenal made just the £21.8m on the deal!
7) Kevin Davies: Southampton to Bolton (free)
Having flagged under the weight of a £7.5million fee when he joined Blackburn from Southampton in July 1998, Davies returned to the Dell after just a year. His second spell on the south coast wasn’t a success, however, and he was freed in 2003. Cue Sam Allardyce at Bolton and an incredible resurrection. The big striker has been nothing less than a resounding hit at the Reebok, culminating in an unlikely England debut at the age of 33 in October last year.
6) Tim Cahill: Millwall to Everton (£1.5m)
He helped the south London club to the FA Cup final in 2004 and a subsequent UEFA Cup place, and his exploits for the Championship side were enough to convince David Moyes to add the Australian international to his side. And it’s a good job he did. His vital goals from midfield have helped propel his club into regular challengers for European places and heaven knows where they would be without him.
5) Patrick Vieira: AC Milan to Arsenal (£3.5m)
Right up there in the list of Arsene Wenger’s wonder signings. The Frenchman has made a habit of plucking players from obscurity and turning them into superstars and Vieira is a classic example of that. At £3.5m from AC Milan he is one of the more costly buys in our top ten, but that figure was proved over the years to be an absolute bargain. He won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups in almost a decade in north London and, with compatriot Emmanuel Petit, formed one of the Premier League’s best ever midfield duos.
4) Kenny Dalglish: Celtic to Liverpool (£440,000)
At the time (1977), £440,000 was a huge sum of money. But having banked £500,000 from Hamburg for Kevin Keegan earlier that summer, snapping up Dalglish from Celtic and turning a profit at the same time represented a stunning bit of business by Anfield manager Bob Paisley. Such was his success on Merseyside that Securicor would have been needed to transport his stack of medals when he left 13 years later after a glorious career as player, player-manager and manager. OK, not strictly (or even at all!), a Premier League bargain, but who cares... Long live the King…
3) Eric Cantona: Leeds to Man United (£1.2m)
Most clubs have their own God-like figure, a man who supporters flock to their respective stadia to see and worship week after week. For five years in the 1990s, Eric Cantona was that man at Old Trafford. He left an Elland Road side that had won the final First Division title in 1992 and joined a club that would dominate the new Premier League for the rest of the decade. Voted United's Player of the Century in a fans’ poll in 2001, he was certainly one of the bargains of all-time.
2) Henrik Larsson: Feyenoord to Celtic (£650,000)
Despite an inauspicious start to his Celtic career with an unfortunate debut against Hibs (when he gifted the Edinburgh side their winning goal), the former Sweden striker managed an impressive 174 goals in 216 SPL starts between 1997 and 2004. This included 53 in all competitions in the 2000-01 season and, as a result of his feats, he was the only overseas player named in the club's greatest ever team.
1) Peter Schmeichel: Brondby to Man United (£530,000)
While Cantona may have been the catalyst for United’s Premier League dominance, Schmeichel provided the backbone. The greatest of Great Danes was the outstanding goalkeeper in this country during the 1990s and has been voted the best keeper of all-time in numerous polls. He won five Premier Leagues, three FA Cups, a League Cup and the Champions League. Never has £530,000 been better spent. And such is the affection for him at Old Trafford that not even a spell at Man City later in his career has dulled his legendary status at United.