Manchester United finally return to Premier League action on Tuesday night as Ruben Amorim travels to take on Nottingham Forest.
More than two weeks have now passed since Manchester United beat Leicester City 3-0 at the King Power Stadium.
The international break has been and gone, with Ruben Amorim now ready to lead United into battle once again.
This will be a tough game; Nottingham Forest are chasing Champions League qualification and will pose a major threat to United.
Fans will recall some players who turned out for both sides; current Forest star Anthony Elanga springs to mind, but so do Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham, Dean Henderson, and even Jesse Lingard.
Nobody stands out quite like Roy Keane, though, with the Irishman trading United for Forest back in 1993.
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Sir Alex Ferguson was proven right on Roy Keane
Keane quickly became a star at Nottingham Forest.
Signed from Cobh Ramblers in 1990, Keane bagged 33 goals in 154 games from midfield for Forest, shining under Brian Clough.
Fresh off winning the first Premier League title, United pounced to sign Keane, with Sir Alex Ferguson absolutely convinced by his ability.
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“I can’t afford to lose this player. You know how much I have wanted him for ages,” Ferguson told Forest boss Frank Clark, as quoted by United’s official website.
The Scot was desperate to land Keane and was quoted as saying that signing the Irishman was ‘absolutely vital’ for United’s future.
“We had to sign Roy Keane,” said Ferguson. “It was absolutely vital for the club’s future,” he added.
Not content with just winning one Premier League title, Ferguson was already looking for more and more success.
Paul Ince and Bryan Robson were a superb midfield partnership for United, but Ferguson saw the future – he knew that Keane would become a United legend.
Keane went on to play nearly 500 times for United, winning seven Premier League titles, four FA Cups and one Champions League.
Arguably United’s greatest ever captain, Keane didn’t let Ferguson down and made sure that the work in signing him was repaid with exceptional performance.
Their relationship may have deteriorated over the years, but Ferguson acknowledged the difficult of replacing Keane, noting that signing Owen Hargreaves was a ‘disaster’.
One manager left ‘fuming’ by Roy Keane transfer
Ferguson was so desperate to land Keane because he almost joined a Premier League rival.
Blackburn Rovers had agreed a deal to sign Keane from Forest with Kenny Dalglish making his move.
Paperwork problems held up the deal, and Ferguson seized his opportunity, hijacking Keane’s transfer and luring him to Old Trafford.
As quoted by United’s official website, Keane admitted that Dalglish was ‘fuming’, but Ferguson convinced him to shun Rovers and join United instead.
“I agreed a deal and shook hands with him,” said Keane. “I went back to Cork and, on the Sunday morning, woke up and I got a phone-call from Sir Alex to my house back in Cork and he said will you come and meet with me for talks tomorrow. I said look, I shook hands with Blackburn and he said don’t worry about that! Kenny was fuming!” he added.
That phone call was inspired business from Ferguson, and as Keane’s two former clubs lock horns on Tuesday night, he will certainly feel that he made the right decision some 32 years ago.