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Alan Shearer admits Eric Cantona surprised him after transfer from Leeds
Alan Shearer has admitted that he was surprised by the impact Eric Cantona had on Manchester United following his shock transfer from the Premier League giants from Leeds.
Speaking on The Match of the Day Top 10 podcast , the all-time Premier League goalscorer claimed that he, nor anyone else, would have predicted how successful Cantona would be at United after the French attacker signed for the Old Trafford side in 1992, a year after winning the league with Leeds.
Cantona is often regarded as one of Manchester United’s best-ever players as the former French international won four league titles under Sir Alex Ferguson as well as two FA Cups, with the attacker scoring 82 goals in total for the Red Devils.
Shearer, along with Micah Richards and Gary Lineker, sat down on The Match of the Day Top 10 podcast to discuss the most shocking transfers of the Premier League era, and the former Newcastle attacker placed Cantona’s move to United at number two in the standings, and the pundit admitted the forward surprised him following his move to Leeds’ bitter rivals.
Shearer said: “I don’t think anyone could have predicted what Cantona would bring to Manchester United – the arrogance, the swagger, the ability. If you are going to have that arrogance, you’ve got to have the ability – and he did. He took it to a different level with not caring about anyone else. He got away with more than any other player too, according to Steve Bruce.”
TBR View: Cantona signing is a crucial moment in history for the Premier League
Leeds fans will never forgive Cantona for leaving the club for their arch-rivals in Manchester United, but there is no denying that the transfer was a crucial moment in the infant years of the Premier League, and at the time, it was impossible to predict just how well the French maverick would do for Ferguson’s club.
Cantona was key to United’s early dominance in the division and remains, to this day, one of the club’s most beloved sons and a player who is regularly chanted about at home games, when these such events were allowed to be attended by fans, and his signing can be viewed as a turning point for both the Manchester side as well as Leeds in their proceeding futures in the Premier League.