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Dublin: 17 °C Thursday 20 June, 2013

On the cheap: 10 of the best Premier League bargain buys

Swansea’s Michu is turning out to be the transfer of the season and we have a look back at past deals which saw players move for next to nothing.

MICHU’S GOAL AGAINST Chelsea in the Capital One Cup semi-final first leg was his 16th in 25 appearances since arriving at Swansea in the summer.

Having found the back of the net 15 times for Rayo Vallecano last season, the Spaniard was hardly an unknown, especially to fans of La Liga, but even they will have been more than a little surprised at the instant impact he has made in English football.

Swans boss Michael Laudrup isn’t alone in calling him “the bargain of the season” and if a club was to enquire about the 26-year-old now, they would no doubt be quoted a figure nearing ten times what was paid for him in the summer.

Below, we’ve picked out some of the Premier League’s best bargains from past years. Sure, you could say that any player bought for a sum and sold on for a substantial profit fits the bill (Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United, for instance) but we’ve decided to stick to transfers which costed relatively little or nothing.

On the cheap: 10 of the best Premier League bargain buys
1 / 10
  • Michu - Rayo Vallecano to Swansea: £2m

    Behind only RVP and Luis Suarez in the goalscoring charts, Michu is taking the Premier League by storm in his debut season.
  • Ole Gunnar Solskjaer -Molde FK to Manchester United: £1.5m

    The ultimate super-sub, Solsjkaer arrived at United in 1996 and scored 91 times for the club - including the winner in the Champions League final in '99.
  • Gary McAllister - Coventry to Liverpool: Free

    Aged 35, the Scottish international made a surprise move to Merseyside and helped them to the treble of an FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup the following season.
  • Jay-Jay Okocha - Paris Saint-Germain to Bolton: Free

    Four years after becoming the most expensive African player in a move from Fenerbahce to PSG, the exciting Nigerian midfielder hooked up with Big Sam's motley crew of Ivan Campo, Fernando Hierro and Youri Djorkaeff.
  • Sol Campbell - Tottenham to Arsenal: Free

    The England defender became a hate figure for some Spurs fans after making the switch across North London on a Bosman in 2001 but was rewarded with 2 league wins and three FA Cups.
  • Brad Friedel - Liverpool to Blackburn: Free

    Having endured a tough time at his first English club, the American was moved on to Rovers, where he performed consistently for eight seasons before joining Aston Villa.
  • Tim Cahill - Millwall to Everton: £1.5m

    IN 2004, Everton paid Millwall £1.5m for Tim Cahill and it turned out to be an absolute steal.
  • Demba Ba - West Ham to Newcastle: Free

    West Ham's relegation to the Championship, Newcastle picked the Senegalese striker up on a free and it proved a master stroke. Unfortunately for the Magpies, a £7m release clause meant he only spent 18 months on Tyneside.
  • Paolo Di Canio - Sheffield Wednesday to West Ham: £1.7m

    The charismatic Italian become a cult hero in the four seasons he spent at the Boleyn Ground between 1999-2003.
  • Eric Cantona: Leeds to Manchester United: £1.1m

    One of the most iconic players of the Premier League era was allowed to join Leeds' rivals by Howard Wilkinson and went on to be lead United to the start of the dominant period.

Give us your own suggestions below

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