3. Alan Shearer – Southampton to Blackburn Rovers, £3.3m.
Admittedly in 1992 when Shearer signed for Rovers £3.3m it was a British transfer record, but what the striker provided for the club was worth that fee and beyond.
Although mostly famous for his Newcastle days, the English forward won his one and only major trophy whilst at Ewood Park when the Lancashire club lifted the Premier league in 1994/95.
Shearer would go onto score a colossal 113 goals in 144 matches for Blackburn during four years at the club and the England international is still the league’s top-scorer of all-time by some way with 260 strikes.
The forward retired from the game in 2009, having spent 13 years with his beloved Newcastle but never actually winning any more trophies.
2. Dennis Bergkamp – Inter Milan to Arsenal, £7.5m.
The Dutch forward was one of a select few foreign players in the mid-1990s that really changed the way the Premier League would function forever.
Bergkamp’s deft touch and ability to lose an opponent just through pure skill baffled traditional English defences and to date the former Arsenal man is still one of the greatest No.10s in the competition’s history.
Sitting in the hole behind initially Anelka and later Henry, the Netherlands international was truly a joy to behold when on the ball, although like Zola at the time was never prolific in-front of goal – 98 strikes in 374 matches.
Bergkamp’s fear of flying robbed the Gunners of the attacker’s talents in the Champions League, but three Premier League titles and four FA Cups tell its own story.
1. Eric Cantona – Leeds United to Manchester United, £1.2m.
Like Shearer’s fee, although £1.2m is peanuts in today’s market, in 1992 when Cantona signed for United it was a truly large amount – although the Frenchman certainly earned it.
The forward arrived on the back of domestic success with Leeds having won the last ever First Division title, but it would be at Old Trafford that Cantona would become a legend.
With the flicked up collar, charisma bordering on arrogance and undeniable talent the attacker would go onto have unprecedented success during five years at United, which would yield four titles and two FA Cups.
In 1997, still aged only 30-years-old, Cantona retired from the game at the peak of his powers and will forever be ranked as one of the greatest players to grace the Theatre of Dreams.
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