Transfer Lists: 10 surprise Manchester United signings

Many reckon it to be the greatest piece of transfer business ever conducted by Sir Alex Ferguson and, yet, it only occurred due to a famous twist in fate. Leeds chairman Bill Fotherby called his opposite number Martin Edwards to enquire about Denis Irwin’s availability. It may have been sheer folly on the Yorkshire club's part, thinking they could re-sign their former player when he was a defensive mainstay at Old Trafford, but it led to the Reds boss, sat alongside Edwards, scrawling the word ‘Cantona?’ on a notepad. The question was posed, a return call was promised and the rest, as they say, is history. 2. Andy Cole (Newcastle United - 12/01/1995, £6million + Keith Gillespie) - Major transfers rarely happen completely out of the blue but this one certainly did and it generated huge debate. Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan would surely not even have contemplated selling a goal-machine idolised on Tyneside. Yet Ferguson was encouraged by an initial approach and struck a deal worth £7million - with promising Reds winger Keith Gillespie topping up the £6million cash sum. It was a British record fee, beating the £5million Blackburn Rovers had paid Norwich City for Chris Sutton and the football world was stunned as it all happened so quickly.
3. Teddy Sheringham (Tottenham Hotspur - 27/06/1997, £3.5million) - United were seeking a replacement for Cantona and surprised a few people by opting for a player in his thirties. The backdrop to the move was Sheringham's desire to leave Tottenham after falling out with chairman Alan Sugar and handed in a transfer request. "The only time United were mentioned in the same story as me was when Martin Edwards said I was too old and expensive," stated the England striker. "I said 'hmm' and dismissed the idea of coming here. But when I heard they were actually interested, it didn't take much to persuade me to move."
4. Andy Goram (Motherwell - 22/03/2001, £100,000) - There was general incredulity at the signing of the 36-year-old keeper from Motherwell, not least from the man himself. Legend has it that the ex-Rangers star swore at Sir Alex over the telephone because he thought it was his pal Ally McCoist making a prank call. United had been granted special dispensation from UEFA to sign a goalkeeper after the transfer deadline had expired due to fitness concerns over Fabien Barthez and Raimond van der Gouw.
5. Juan Sebastian Veron (Lazio - 21/07/2001, £28.1million) - United proved to be one of the biggest clubs on the planet by signing a truly world-class talent at the peak of his powers. "I never thought the day would arrive when I spent this much money on one player," confessed Sir Alex. "But it is the kind of thing Manchester United should do." The Lazio playmaker had been the subject of a blockbuster bid from Real Madrid in the previous season and was looking for a route out of Italy. "You can talk about other clubs spending huge sums but this is one of the biggest clubs, if not the biggest, in the world," he commented.
6. Alan Smith (Leeds United - 26/05/2004, £7million) - It was the move the Elland Road faithful could never see happening - dyed-in-the-wool Leeds fan and star striker Alan Smith heading across the Pennines to Old Trafford. As the Yorkshire club slid towards relegation, rumours emerged that Sir Alex fancied adding Smith to his ranks. "I’d often discussed Alan with my coaching staff and we concluded by saying: ‘He’s a Leeds boy and he would never come here’," he admitted. "Once Leeds were relegated, it was obvious a player of his ability could never stay there. But then I was told he was willing to join us and that he wasn’t interested in the past. I said: ‘That will do for me’ because it was a brave decision."
7. Henrik Larsson (Helsingborgs - 01/01/2007, Loan) - Veteran marksman Larsson made a shock switch to Old Trafford during the January transfer window on a loan deal. Despite appearing happy to see out his playing days in his native Sweden with Helsingborgs, the 35-year-old’s club agreed a fee worth around £360,000 to allow him one last shot at the big time. Sir Alex remembered Larsson’s remarkable impact in Scotland for Celtic and was adamant there would be no extension to the short-term fix out of respect for Helsingborgs and their own ambitions. "He may be here for a short period but that may be the most important short period in the club’s season," explained the manager.
8. Michael Owen (Newcastle United - 03/07/2009, Free) - The man inheriting Cristiano Ronaldo’s No7 shirt was a former Liverpool favourite, who had been very much an adversary in the past. Out of contract at Newcastle, the former Real Madrid striker was seemingly struggling to find a top-flight team until Sir Alex made one of those left-field transfer moves that takes everybody by surprise. "We looked at Michael's situation for a few months and mulled it over," admitted the Reds boss. "Michael knows that. We knew his contract was coming to an end and I still intended to bring another player in. What confused us was waiting for a decision from Carlos Tevez. We waited long enough. We tried to get Karim Benzema but, as soon as that fell through, we went for Michael."
9. Javier Hernandez (Chivas de Guadalajara - 01/07/2010, £7million) - A genuine occasion when United kept the deal so hush-hush that only close members of the Mexican’s family knew of the move and it provided an instant tonic hot on the heels of the club’s Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich. Indeed, ‘Chicharito’ was in the crowd for that clash and revealed: "I just wanted to jump on to the pitch and start playing." Despite the announcement taking place in April after no initial speculation, Hernandez only officially became a United player in the following July, after shining at the World Cup for Mexico by scoring against France and Argentina.
10. Robin van Persie (Arsenal - 17/08/12, £22.5million) - Most people in football expected Manchester City to snap up the prolific Arsenal striker, raiding the Emirates Stadium as they had done previously for Gael Clichy, Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor and Samir Nasri. With van Persie refusing to extend his contract, Arsenal were left with a difficult decision – sell their captain or allow him to run down his contract and leave for nothing in 2013. A switch to Serie A with Juventus would have been the Gunners’ preferred option but van Persie craved silverware and had to push for Old Trafford. Sir Alex called Arsene Wenger personally in a bid to get the deal over the line and empathised with the Frenchman, who fought for a sizeable fee despite the contractual situation. "Robin is a world-class striker with a proven record in England and in European football," Sir Alex enthused after getting his way. "His talents need no introduction to our fans."