WHAT THEY SAID

Nick Duxbury (The Independent): “Middlesbrough, relegated after one season in the First Division, wanted to keep the 24-year-old capped twice by England, but Ferguson, backed by the money brought to United by new chairman Michael Knighton, made them an offer they could not refuse. 'In the end I decided to get him no matter what the cost,' Ferguson said.”



Alex Ferguson: “We didn't intend to pay more than £1.6m for Gary Pallister. The Middlesbrough chairman did a brilliant job in pushing us to £2.3m over seven hours of negotiation. I didn't want to disappoint 50,000 fans again and although the lad cost more than we wished to pay I would point out that [Glenn] Hysen [fellow transfer target] is touching 30, Pallister is 22 and on a six-year contract. He will be an outstanding player, as will Paul Ince. They are both very young and will take time to settle in but I know we are on the right lines'.”

You can listen to the full Pallister episode of UTD Podcast now, on Deezer and all of your favourite podcast platforms.