Jamie Carragher makes shock selection for the best football transfer in history

Jamie Carragher once named his choice as the greatest signing ever made, claiming it 'stands alone'.

Carragher began by referencing the likes of Eric Cantona, Dennis Bergkamp, Yaya Youre, David Silva and Virgil van Dijk.

They joined established clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool.

The same cannot be said about Leicester City's transfer of Jamie Vardy, who signed for the Championship club for £1 million.

It was a record fee paid for a non-league player, but it's safe to say Vardy has repaid it several times over. He's won a Golden Boot, a Premier League Player of the Season award and - of course - the Premier League title itself with the club. All on a diet of Red Bull and Skittle vodka (possibly). In addition to that, he's won the FA Cup.

He's widely regarded as Leicester's greatest ever player, with Carragher hailing the club's transfer.

"There may never be a better transfer than Vardy's from Fleetwood Town to Leicester - not just in the Premier League era, but in football history," the Liverpool legend wrote in his column for the Telegraph.

"I am always reluctant to definitively declare anyone or anything is 'the best ever'. It can only be a matter of opinion. But if you were compiling a list of the greatest, most influential signings and judging it on value for money, who eclipses Vardy?"

Jamie Vardy in action for Leicester City. Image: Getty

While there have been numerous other brilliant buys that have altered the history of a club, Carragher explains that while Vardy's move unique is that it involved a Championship side buying a totally unknown 25-year-old striker from the Conference.

Few would have imagined at the time that - after overcoming a slow start to his Leicester career - Vardy would end up an England international striker with 136 Premier League goals.

"We can talk about many transfers which changed the course of Premier League history, such as Eric Cantona joining Manchester United, Dennis Bergkamp to Arsenal, Yaya Toure or David Silva moving to Manchester City, or Virgil van Dijk joining Liverpool," he added.

"They were established, international players and household names heading to clubs already building towards titles - the finishing touch to emerging teams.

"The Vardy story stands alone in that he joined Leicester for £1 million directly from non-league football and defied expectations.

"Whenever the story of English football is told to future generations, they will talk about Leicester before and after Vardy's arrival."

Can you name a better transfer than Vardy's £1 million move to Leicester? Let us know.

Topics: Jamie Carragher, Jamie Vardy, Football

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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