Richards and Shearer discuss the best bargains in PL HISTORY
Micah Richards and Alan Shearer discuss the best bargains in Premier League HISTORY… but who comes out on top out of Eric Cantona, Jamie Vardy and Kolo Toure?
- Micah Richards and Alan Shearer picked their top ten Premier League bargains
- The pundits based their criteria on players who were ‘pinched from their clubs’
- Eric Cantona and Jamie Vardy both featured in their top ten selections
With more and more money being spent in the transfer market every season, ‘bargains’ are becoming less common in the Premier League.
However, there have been some smart pieces of bussiness from several clubs in the past and Micah Richards and Alan Shearer picked out the their top ten bargain signings.
The two pundits chose their players as part of the Match of the Day Top 10 podcast. Their criteria was players who were ‘pinched from their club’ rather than those who were cheap or free transfers.
Micah Richards (left) and Alan Shearer (right) picked their top 10 Premier League bargains
When it came to the No 1 bargain, both went for strikers in Eric Cantona and Jamie Vardy.
Sportsmail’s Richards opted for Cantona, who joined Manchester United from Leeds for a fee of £1.2million in 1992.
The Frenchman won nine trophies in five years and scored 82 goals for the club.
‘He just has to be number one – £1.2m for him? I just loved him,’ Richards said.
‘He is just the man and is so iconic. Growing up as a kid everyone used to have their collar turned up, thinking they were him. He’s got everything. He just edged out Vardy for me because of the number of trophies that he won, and the song may have helped.’
Richards picked Eric Cantona, who joined Manchester United from Leeds for £1.2m in 1992
Shearer opted for Jamie Vardy, who signed for Leicester from non-league Fleetwood in 2012
Micah Richards and Alan Shearer’s top 10 PL bargains
Micah Richards:
1. Eric Cantona (Manchester United) 2. Jamie Vardy (Leicester) 3. Peter Schmeichel (Manchester United)4. Kolo Toure (Arsenal) 5. Robin van Persie (Arsenal) 6. Riyad Mahrez (Leicester) 7. Paolo di Canio (West Ham) 8. Lucas Radebe (Leeds) 9. Seamus Coleman (Everton) 10. Andy Robertson (Liverpool)
Alan Shearer 1. Jamie Vardy 2. Eric Cantona 3. Peter Schmeichel 4. Seamus Coleman 5. Kolo Toure 6. Robin van Persie 7. Riyad Mahrez 8. Lucas Radebe 9. Andy Robertson 10. Paolo di Canio
Shearer, however, had Cantona in second place and named Vardy as his No 1 bargain. The striker joined Leicester for £1m from non-league side Fleetwood in 2012.
The Foxes were in the Championship at the time but Vardy’s goals helped propel them to the top flight before he spearheaded their famous title-winning season in 2016.
He scored his 100th Premier League goal last season and also picked up the Golden Boot award for the first time.
He said: ‘To come from non-league football, to be one of the best strikers in the best league in the world in my opinion, is just phenomenal. It just gives everyone who plays at that level hope.
‘It is one thing getting there, but it is another thing staying there because everybody knows his game and what he is good at but there are not many people who have been able to stop him. It is a great story.’
The two pundits were in agreement for third place with both picking Peter Schmeichel, who joined the Red Devils from £505,000 from Brondby in 1991.
The goalkeeper went on to win 15 trophies for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and was part of the treble-winning team of 1999.Fourth place caused more debate, with Richards picking former Arsenal defender Kolo Toure, while Shearer went for Everton captain Seamus Coleman.
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel was in third place on both lists
Kolo Toure was in fourth place on Richards’ list and made fifth in Shearer’s selections
Toure, who Richards described as ‘the nicest man ever’, signed for Arsenal from Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas in 2002 for a fee of just £150,000.
The centre back was part of the Invincibles team that won the Premier League in 2004 without losing a single game. Shearer had Toure in fifth place and instead opted for Coleman in fourth.
The Republic of Ireland international joined the Toffees from Sligo Rovers in 2009 for £60,000.
The defender hasn’t won a trophy in 12 years at Goodison Park but Shearer pointed to his popularity with the fans and his number of appearances (342), despite having a serious injury.
Elsewhere in the list for both pundits was Robin van Persie, Riyad Mahrez, Andy Robertson, Lucas Radebe and Paolo di Canio.
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