Jamie Carragher's signing of the season as Gary Neville makes Cristiano Ronaldo U-turn

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21/06/2022
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Cristiano Ronaldo might have been the highest profile Premier League signing of the summer, but neither Jamie Carragher nor Gary Neville consider him the best.

The Manchester United forward made a fast start to the campaign, and remains his team's top scorer with seven league goals, but has scored just once from open play in the league since the beginning of November.

Ronaldo's former United teammate Neville had sung the Portuguese forward's praises earlier in the season, but neither he nor Carragher picked him as their signing of the season when asked to give their half-time reports for the Premier League season.

Indeed, both opted for goalkeepers in a season where a number of attacking recruits have been good but not great.

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Neville continued to make the case for Ronaldo on the basis of what the veteran has brought to the Premier League with his United return.

However, it was the United man's compatriot Jose Sa who got the nod as Neville's player of the season.

The Wolves goalkeeper is in his first Premier League season after joining from Olympiacos, and his seven clean sheets and 57 saves leave Bruno Lage's club with the third-best defensive record in the entire league.

While Sa's performances weren't quite enough for him to displace Alisson in the pundit's team of the season, Carragher's tip for signing was also the starting goalkeeper in his XI.

Jamie Carragher's signing of the season as Gary Neville makes Cristiano Ronaldo U-turn

Carragher opted for Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale, a big-money signing from Sheffield United, and admitted he was surprised by the impact made by the 23-year-old.

"When they brought him in, I thought they were bringing him in as backup," Carragher said.

"He hadn't impressed me in his Premier League time at Sheffield United and Bournemouth.

"And it's not just the saves he's made - he's a personality, he's a character.

"Going into Arsenal as a young lad, a goalkeeper, I just think he's got a presence about him that I didn't see he had and I think he's had a big impact on the team."

Sa got the nod over Ronaldo after Neville watched the United player struggle in the 1-1 draw against Newcastle.

The former Juventus forward drew another blank, and picked up a yellow card for a wild challenge on Ryan Fraser in the second half.

Allan Saint-Maximin had given Newcastle a half-time lead, with Edinson Cavani coming off the bench to level things up after the break.

Ronaldo had scored twice against the Magpies in his second United debut back in September, but his only goal in three games under interim manager Ralf Rangnick is the penalty he converted in the win away to Norwich City.