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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

  • Ole Gunnar Solskjaer -Molde FK to Manchester United: £1.5m

  • Gary McAllister - Coventry to Liverpool: Free

  • Jay-Jay Okocha - Paris Saint-Germain to Bolton: Free

  • Sol Campbell - Tottenham to Arsenal: Free

  • Brad Friedel - Liverpool to Blackburn: Free

  • Tim Cahill - Millwall to Everton: £1.5m

  • Demba Ba - West Ham to Newcastle: Free

  • Paolo Di Canio - Sheffield Wednesday to West Ham: £1.7m

  • Eric Cantona: Leeds to Manchester United: £1.1m

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