Manchester United's best centre-backs in the Premier League era

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Gary Pallister
Gary Pallister

#4 Steve Bruce

Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce

No United fan can forget Steve Bruce's two goals late on in the victory against Sheffield Wednesday which gave United their first top flight title in 26 years and crowning them first Premier League champions.

Signed from Norwich CIty in 1987, he developed into a solid and dependable all-round player at United. He was particularly noted for his calm passing of the ball, and his ability to control it under pressure, often with his chest.

He was well known for continuing to play even when injured, most notably returning to the United team at short notice in 1992 even though he was awaiting an operation on a hernia, something that would endear previous manager Jose Mourinho.

Bruce was also known for his unusually high goalscoring rate for a centre-back, resulting from a combination of his ability to powerfully head the ball and his effectiveness in taking penalties. He scored 36 goals in just 309 apperances for United. In the 1990-91 season, he scored an incredible 13 goals!

At United, he won the Premier League and the FA Cup thrice as well as the League Cup, the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup and the UEFA Super Cup once. His partnership with Gary Pallister was phenomenal. The pair were affectionately known as Dolly and Daisy, was the earliest great centre-back partnership in the Premier League and remains one of the best to this day.

He left the club in 1996 for Birmingham City eventually finishing his career at Sheffield United in 1999. At present, he is the manager of the EFL Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.

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Edited by Aaditya Narayan