Manchester United's greatest-ever transfers in Premier League history

Manchester United started the Premier League era with a couple of marquee signings, bringing in Dion Dublin from Cambridge United and Eric Cantona from Leeds United. Dublin was Alex Ferguson's second-choice in the transfer market, bringing him to Old Trafford after Alan Shearer moved from Southampton to Blackburn Rovers. He scored just two league goals for the Red Devils before leaving for Coventry City in 1994. On the other hand, Cantona was a revelation for the club, reaching double figures in the Premier League in four of his five seasons, picking up four league titles and two FA Cups along the way.

Roy Keane became the most expensive player in English football when he joined United as a 21-year-old and was the face and heart of the team for the next 13 seasons. He played 480 times for the Red Devils winning seven league titles as well as the Champions League in 1999. The Republic of Ireland midfielder was the team's captain for their European success, but missed the final due to suspension after picking up a yellow card during a career-best performance against Juventus in the semi-final.

Andy Cole was an immediate success at Manchester United after signing in January 1995. The England attacker ended the season in double figures in the Premier League despite playing just 18 times in half-a-campaign. He went on to score 121 times in all competitions for the club, finishing with five league titles and a Champions League medal.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would go down in Manchester United history for one single moment, but scored almost 100 Premier League goals as he became the world's best 'super sub' under Alex Ferguson. He was signed by United after local rivals Manchester City were not willing to take a chance on him, and ended up coming off the bench to score the winner in the club's miraculous comeback in the 1999 Champions League final.

Eric Cantona's retirement had left a void for Alex Ferguson in the Manchester United XI, and Tottenham striker Teddy Sheringham was chosen as the man to fill the gap. His initial form was patchy, but his crucial equaliser in the 1999 Champions League final paved the way for the club to win the trophy. In his final year at Old Trafford, he finished with 15 Premier League goals to win a third league medal.

In 1998, Manchester United broke the club's transfer record twice to sign Jaap Stam and then Dwight Yorke. The Trinindad and Tobago striker had an excellent but short career at Old Trafford with 65 goals in 148 appearances, but Stam was clearly the key signing of 1998. Then the most expensive defender in the world, the Dutchman immediately became a key figure in the United backline and helped them to the Champions League as well as three Premier League titles in-a-row.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was one of Manchester United's most prolific goalscorers of the 2000s, netting 150 goals in 219 appearances while also breaking the record for the most goals for the club in Europe. He finished with 38 goals in continental competition, and is still the club's second highest European goalscorer ever.

Rio Ferdinand became the world's most expensive defender when he joined Leeds United in 2000 for £18m, and then broke the record again two years later with his move to Manchester United. There, he became one of the club's best ever centre-backs, spending 12 years at Old Trafford, winning six league titles, two league cups and the Champions League.

One of the greatest players of all-time, Cristiano Ronaldo made his breakthrough at Old Trafford before his world record £80m move to Real Madrid in 2009. Alex Ferguson bought the 18-year-old and handed him the No. 7 shirt previously worn by icons such as Eric Cantona and David Beckham. In 2007-08, he scored 31 Premier League goals to help United to the title, with eight more goals in Europe as the Manchester club won the Champions League.

Manchester United's record goal-scorer finally surpassed Bobby Robson's goal tally in 2016-17 and finished with 253 goals for the club before returning to Everton. He is also the Premier League's second highest scorer and provided many essential goals for the Red Devils during his 13 seasons at United. He also finished as their record goalscorer in Europe, overtaking Ruud van Nistelrooy's previous high watermark.

After being linked with Manchester United for many years, Edwin van der Sar finally moved to Old Trafford in 2005. There he solved Alex Ferguson's long-running goalkeeper problem as the Scot sought a long-term and reliable replacement to Peter Schmeichel. His best moment came in 2007 when he saved a penalty against rivals Man City to seal the three points which guaranteed the Premier League title. In 2009, he also broke the world record for the most time without conceding - an amazing 1,302 minutes!

Together with Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic was part of one of the best centre-back pairings in Premier League history. An extremely popular player with fans and team-mates, he was named the Players' Player of the Year following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo after helping United to a club record 14 consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League.

Manchester United's only permanent signing in the summer of 2006 was Tottenham midfielder Michael Carrick. The England international was brought in to replace Roy Keane in the club's engine room, and although never the same kind of aggressive midfielder as his predecessor, he was an incredibly reliable fixture in the centre of the park. He has fallen out of favour with current manager Jose Mourinho, but has played over 450 games for the club.

An instant favourite at Manchester United for choosing them over Manchester City, Bulgaria international Dimitar Berbatov scored nine league goals in his first campaign, but ended the season as the league's top provider with his unselfish play. His slow play was often criticised by the media, but rarely by Red Devils fans who were regularly repaid with clinical finishes.

Antonio Valencia has developed as a player since Alex Ferguson first signed the Ecuador international from Wigan. Starting out as a right-winger, he netted seven goals in his first season at Old Trafford and was a creative outlet in attack. Since then, he has been utilised all along the right side of the pitch, and is now very comfortable as a right-back under Jose Mourinho.

Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez became Manchester United's first ever Mexican player when he moved from his home country, and went on to become the Red Devils' new Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. In total, he scored 59 goals in all competitions, but has an incredible minutes-per-goal ratio as he was utilised as a 'super sub' under Alex Ferguson and his successors.

Now regarded as one of the world's best goalkeepers, David de Gea was signed to replace Edwin van der Sar following the Dutch shot stopper's retirement. After a patchy first season at Old Trafford, the Spain international has become an extremely reliable number one and still has a long future between the posts ahead of him at just 27-years-old.

Robin van Persie broke the hearts of many Arsenal fans when he turned down the club's offer of a new contract to leave for the Red Devils. He had been an extremely prolific goalscorer under Arsene Wenger, and continued that with his new club. He chose the number 20 after being advised by Rene Meulensteen that he could help the club win its 20th league title, and netted 26 Premier League goals in his first season to do exactly that.

Manchester United's record signing had a lot of pressure put on him from the media and opposition fans following his return to the club ahead of the 2016-17 season. Many claimed his performances did not represent the outlay, but in today's market looks good value for money following the smashing of the £100m barrier. Pogba opened the scoring in the Europa League final, securing United's return to the Champions League with their first continental trophy in nine years.