3. Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney burst onto the scene as a 16-year old when he curled in a beautiful game-winning strike against Arsenal in 2002 which left keeper David Seaman beaten all ends up. The last minute strike ended Arsenal's 30-match unbeaten run, and also made Rooney the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history, a record that has since been surpassed twice by both James Milner and James Vaughan. Further impressive performances for the Toffee's persuaded Ferguson to open his cheque book in 2004 and splash out £25.6 million on the precocious young talent - a bit of a gamble to say he was then only 18 but oh how it has paid off. Currently United's fourth highest goalscorer of all time with 197 strikes, Rooney has won virtually all there is to be won at Old Trafford and has been one of the club's most reliable strikers down the years, helping to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo's departure. Though he came close to leaving the club himself back in 2010, he was later persuaded to stay put, and remains one of United's most lethal weapons today.