Maybe a reason Sir Alex Ferguson decided to power down the hairdryer was the realisation that he’d cracked it – the United boss had finally signed a striker to truly rival the capture of Eric Cantona.

Robin van Persie, the Premier League leading scorer following a £24m move from Arsenal last summer, unequivocally brought the title back to Manchester.

The Dutch talisman has been in a league of his own for large spells of this season, and hats off to Fergie for wavering his policy of refusing to sign players of a certain age.

When handing over the cheque to the Gunners in August, he might have thought that it could be his one big final transfer – a gesture to the supporters – before departing the managerial scene.

“In terms of impact he has had as big an impact as anyone I can imagine,” Ferguson said in April.

“Cantona was an incredible impact player and I have been very, very lucky in that I have had some fantastic strikers right through.

“I think we had an expectation of Robin because his performance last year for Arsenal was sensational. We saw him last year and knew he could gel. He has never disappointed us.”

It was a gamble that paid off. Many similar punts – of varying fees – have come off for Ferguson over the last 26 years from his very first Viv Anderson to his last Wifried Zaha, but there are some that haven’t.

For every Roy Keane there has been a Kleberson – every Cristiano Ronaldo a Florent N’Galula. On giving Eric Djemba Djemba a five-year deal in 2003 Ferguson beamed: “He’s quick, aggressive and a good passer and is the kind of athletic footballer we are looking for.”

The midfielder didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of that glowing testimony. But to hound Ferguson for his signings would be wrong. Over the last decade alone – when the Scot has landed a handful who’ve become true United greats – Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and City, have frittered millions away on those who have failed to live up to expectations. You could assemble a Fergie XI made up of bargains. At what other club is that imaginable?

1987

Viv Anderson: £250,000 from Arsenal – Fergie’s first signing was important

in the rebuilding job. 6

Brian McClair: £850,000 from Celtic – Scored goals as United began to win

things. 8

1988

Mark Hughes: £1.8m from Barcelona – Bringing Hughes back to the club was

inspired. 8

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Jim Leighton: £500,000 from Aberdeen – Erratic in his second season,

allowing Les Sealey to cement place as No1. 3

Lee Sharpe: £200,000 from Torquay – Never blossomed as he should have. 7

Mal Donaghy: £650,000 from Luton – Centre-half was a near ever-present

during his four years at Old Trafford. 5

Giuliano Maiorana: Undisc from Histon – Offered deal after trial but hardly played for years. 2

Ralph Milne: £170,000 from Bristol City – Fergie has revealed that Milne was his worst signing of all time. 1

1989

Mike Phelan: £750,000 from Norwich – Key when he signed but saw game time diminish as the years went on. 6

Neil Webb: £1.5m from Nottingham Forest – Eye for a pass, occasionally chipped in with goals before a rift with

Ferguson effectively ended his United career. 6

Gary Pallister: £2.3m from Middlesbrough – Bedrock of Fergie’s first title win alongside Steve Bruce. Nine

memorable years at the club. 8

Paul Ince: £1m from West Ham – Kept the midfield ticking over in the first two league titles, but moved on to Inter Milan as Fergie labelled him a ‘big time Charlie’. 7

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Danny Wallace: £1.2 from Southampton – Didn’t perform as well as he previously at Southampton. 4

1990

Les Sealey: Undisc from Luton – First choice in the 1990/91 season and won the FA Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup. 6

Denis Irwin: £625,000 from Oldham – Superb full back who was always consistent. 9

Neil Whitworth: £45,000 from Wigan – The defender only played one game in four years. 1

1991

Andrei Kanchelskis: £650,000 from Shakhtar Donetsk – A match-winner before 1995 transfer to Everton. 8

Peter Schmeichel: £500,000 from Brondby – Best ever goalkeeper at the club. 9

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Paul Parker: £2m from QPR – Solid but Gary Neville eventually dislodged him. 7

1992

Pat McGibbon: £100,000 from Portadown – Played just once, an easy-looking League Cup tie against York City. Sent off and United lost 3-0 – never to be seen again. 1

Dion Dublin: £1m from Cambridge – Broke leg and United career never recovered. 4

Eric Cantona: £1.2m from Leeds – A magician. 10

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1993

Roy Keane: £3.7m from Nottingham Forest – The true successor to Bryan Robson. 9

1994

Graeme Tomlinson: Undisc from Bradford – Made just two League Cup substitute appearances despite four years at the club. 2

David May: £1.4m from Blackburn – Infamously stole the Champions League limelight. Pushed behind several defenders during nine-year stint at club. 5

1995

Andy Cole: £6m from Newcastle – Most expensive player of his time and rightly so. Scored 121 goals in six years and built up deadly partnership with Dwight Yorke. 8

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Nick Culkin: £250,000 from York – Famously had only one Premier League touch for United. 2

William Prunier: Free from Bordeaux – Initially brought in on trial, Prunier was thrust into the first team because of injuries and career paid the price. Blamed for humiliating 4-1 defeat against Tottenham and never returned. 1

1996

Raimond van der Gouw: Free from Vitesse – Forever a back up to whoever had the No1 jersey. 6

Ronny Johnsen: £1.2m from Besiktas – Overlooked in the glory of ‘99, but Johnsen was an important cog in the treble machine. 7

Tony Coton: £500,000 from City – Didn’t play a single game and only made the bench once. 1

Karel Poborsky: £3.5m from Slavia Prague – Failed to live up to the Euro ‘96 hype. 5

Jordi Cruyff: £1.3m from Barcelona – Couldn’t cope with comparisons to his dad. 2

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: £1.5m from Molde – A huge fans’ favourite, regularly bailed United out off the bench and will be forever remembered for his Champions League final winner. 8

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1997

Teddy Sheringham: £3.5m from Tottenham – Always scored goals at crucial times for. 8

Erik Nevland: Nominal from Viking – Only one Premier League game in three years. 3

Henning Berg: £5m from Blackburn – Integral in the treble winning side of 1998/99, but fell away after the arrival of Jaap Stam. 7

1998

Jonathan Greening: £500,000 from York – Left the club to play regular football in 2001 after too much competition in midfield. 3

Jaap Stam: £10.7m from PSV – Fell out with Ferguson after claims made in his autobiography, but was excellent in the heart of defence. 8

Jesper Blomqvist: £4.4m from Parma – Injury prevented the winger from adding to the 38 appearances he made in treble winning season. 5

Dwight Yorke: £12.6m from Aston Villa – Averaged more than a goal every other start in the league and was key in the treble. 8

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1999

Mark Bosnich: Free from Aston Villa – Didn’t do an awful lot wrong. 5

Quinton Fortune: £1.5m from Atletico Madrid – Was a part of three league title wins, but never played enough games to receive a medal. 5

Massimo Taibi: £4.5m from Venezia – Four games, 11 goals conceded and a number of gaffes. 1

Mikael Silvestre: £4m from Inter – Could play across the back four and did so adequately – ever reliable. 7

Bojan Djordjic: Undisc from IF Brommapojkarna – Should have been the next big thing but wasted his talent – something he now regrets. 2

2000

Fabien Barthez: £7.8m from Monaco – Decent performer but ought to have offered so much more after becoming a global star in the France goal. 6

2001

Ruud van Nistelrooy: £19m from PSV – Became a huge hit and was the Premier League top scorer and player of the year in 2003. 9

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Juan Veron: £28m from Lazio – Ferguson was insistent that the Argentine would be a big success. He wasn’t. 4

Roy Carroll: £2.5m from Wigan – Four years at the club remembered most for the Pedro Mendes goal that wasn’t. 5

Laurent Blanc: Free from Inter – Wasn’t the defender he once was, although did win a title. 5

Kieran Richardson: Undisc from West Ham – Filled in a number of positions but was never given a true run in the side. 4

2002

Diego Forlan: £6.9m from Independiente – Took 27 games to notch his first goal in red, and was a misfiring waste of money. 3

Rio Ferdinand: £27m from Leeds – Became the best defender in the country. 9

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Luke Steele: £500,000 from Peterborough – A gamble worth taking, but Steele couldn’t force his way into Ferguson’s plans in his four years at the club. 3

Ricardo Lopez: £1.5m from Valladolid – Third choice behind Fabien Barthez and Roy Carroll. 4

2003

David Bellion: £2m from Bordeaux – A one trick pony and thought his pace alone would get him by. 3

Eric Djemba-Djemba: £3.5m from Nantes – A name that continually pops up when United’s ‘Worst Ever XI’ is debated at the pub. 2

Tim Howard: £2.3m from Metro Stars – Didn’t grab his chance. 5

Cristiano Ronaldo: £12.3m from Sporting Lisbon – Became a world superstar. 10

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Kleberson: £6.5m from Paranaense – Superb in the 2002 World Cup for Brazil, but abysmal for United a year later. 3

Lee Martin: £200,000 from Wimbledon – Carved a decent career out for himself in the Championship, but was never good enough to succeed Ryan Giggs on the left. 3

2004

Dong: £500,000 from Dalian Shide – Failed miserably to make the grade at Old Trafford. 1

Louis Saha: £12.8m from Fulham – Scored one in three, and could have been more if injuries didn’t take hold. 6

Alan Smith: £7m from Leeds United – Growing into central midfield before a leg break really put pay to his career. 5

Gabriel Heinze: £6.9m from Paris St Germain – Excellent for majority but Heinze’s time at the club soured. 7

Liam Miller: Free from Celtic – Complete flop and played only nine league games. 2

Wayne Rooney: £25.6m from Everton – Could have been best ever signing had it not been for the recurring plot behind the scenes. 8

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Florent N’Galula: Undisc from Anderlecht – Talked up as the ‘next Patrick Viera’, N’Galula failed to make a single appearance. 2

2005

Nemanja Vidic: £7m from Spartak Moscow – Revered as one of the best in Europe. 9

Patrice Evra: £5.5m from Monaco – Had critics but best United left-back since Denis Irwin. 8

Edwin van der Sar: £2m from Fulham – Only Peter Schmeichel can claim to be a better goalkeeper for the club. 9

Park Ji-Sung: £4m from PSV – Mr Dependable for the majority of his United career. 7

Ben Foster: £1m from Stoke – Transfer coincided with Edwin van der Sar joining. Never got a fair sniff. 5

2006

Michael Carrick: £18.6m from Tottenham – One of Fergie’s most inspired signings. 9

2007

Owen Hargreaves: £17m from Bayern Munich – Career encapsulated at United. Brilliant when fit, but never available. 4

Anderson: £20m from Porto – Injuries and inconsistency cost him a long-term future. 6

Nani: £21m from Sporting Lisbon – Not consistent enough. 6

Tomasz Kuszczak: Undisc from West Brom – A capable back-up to Edwin van der Sar but nothing more. 5

Carlos Tevez: £20m from West Ham – Spent two goal and trophy-laden seasons before switching allegiances across the city. 8

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2008

Manucho: Undisc from Petro Atletico – Didn’t pull up any trees. 2

Rafael: Undisc from Fluminense – Emerging as one of the best full backs in world football. 8

Fabio: Undisc from Fluminense – Promise but hasn’t kicked on as much as twin Rafael. 6

Rodrigo Possebon: Undisc from Internacional – Came with the Da Silva twins, but couldn’t dislodge the United midfield at the time before moving to Santos. 3

Dimitar Berbatov: £30m from Tottenham – Nonchalance wasn’t universally liked, but won a title and golden boot. 8

2009

Zoran Tosic: Undisc from Partizan – Regrets leaving for CSKA Moscow, but was given little opportunity to thrive. 3

Paul Pogba: Undisc from Le Havre – Impatient and his potential is being realised elsewhere. 3

Ritchie De Laet: Undisc from Stoke – Loan spells are abiding memories United fans. 3

Antonio Valencia: £16m from Wigan – At his best when screaming past defenders at speed. 7

Michael Owen: Free from Newcastle United – Injured. 4

Gabriel Obertan: £3m from Bordeaux – Manchester never really took to languid winger. 4

Mame Diouf: Undisc from Molde – Scored on second appearance but failed to break into team. 3

2010

Bebe: £7.4m from Vitoria de Guimaraes – Candidate for Ferguson’s worst ever signing at United. 1

Chris Smalling: £10m from Fulham – Looks like he’ll come good. 6

Javier Hernandez: Undisc from Guadalajara – Poacher. 7

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2011

Anders Lindegaard: £3.5m from Aalesund - Solid if nothing else. 6

Phil Jones: £16.5m from Blackburn Rovers – Tipped by his Fergie to be his greatest ever signing. 7

Ashley Young: £17m from Aston Villa – Hasn’t done it for whatever reason. 6

David de Gea: £19m from Atletico Madrid – Shaky start but coming good. 7

2012

Nick Powell: £6m from Crewe – Looks set for a bright future at Old Trafford. 6

Shinji Kagawa: £12m from Borussia Dortmund – Hasn’t yet hit the ground running. 6

Robin van Persie: £24m from Arsenal – Inspirational. 9

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Angelo Henriquez: Undisc from Universidad de Chile – On loan at Wigan. 5

Alexander Buttner: Undisc from Vitesse – Could be a suitable successor to Patrice Evra. 5

Wilfried Zaha: Undisc from Crystal Palace – Completed A-Z of Fergie’s United signings.