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#3. Patrice Evra (AS Monaco to Manchester United, 2006)
The 2005-06 Premier League title belonged to Jose Mourinho and his Chelsea, just like the 2004-05 season. However, in a bid to rein in the West Londoners, Sir Alex Ferguson made a last ditch attempt in January 2006.
The legendary manager acquired two defenders: Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic. Though the latter hit the ground running, the former had initial teething problems.
Yet, as the years passed, the Frenchman established himself as arguably the best left-back in the world and wrote his name into the Manchester United history books.
Signed from AS Monaco for a meagre £7m fee, Evra specialised in defending and was a tough nut to crack. Several wingers tried to get change out of him but failed. Moreover, as he became accustomed to the ‘United style of play’, he developed his attacking play to transform into a marauding full-back.
By the time Evra was done at Old Trafford, he had won the Premier League five time while he was also a part of Champions League winning team of 2007-08.
Though Evra is surely not the most flamboyant player on our list, he definitely was one of the most effective going around.
After all, one doesn’t always need to prioritise extravagance over efficiency.
