Last month marked the 25th anniversary of Roy Keane's record-breaking transfer from Nottingham Forest to Manchester United.

Former Cobh Ramblers player Keane moved for a then record British transfer fee of £3.75m, having initially agreed a verbal deal to join Blackburn Rovers, but changing his mind at the last minute when United made their interest apparent.

Blackburn boss Kenny Dalglish believed that he had won the race for Keane's signature and that he'd added the Nottingham Forest midfielder to his squad, before Alex Ferguson convinced Keane that his future lay at Old Trafford.

Keane would eventually sign for United, accepting a lower wage than he had agreed with Blackburn and the £300,000 a year he was paid represents roughly what the man currently occupying the Keane role at United, Paul Pogba, earns in a week.

Pound for pound, that £3.75m must surely be the best value that Alex Ferguson was ever able to extract from a transfer, but it also marks the last time that an Irish player was in such high demand.

In an era when the bulk of the Republic of Ireland national squad now ply their trade outside the Premier League, the idea of the Premier League champions and a team of Manchester United's stature battling it out to sign an Irish player is a long distant memory.