Alan Smith is one of the footballers who made the step up in his career by leaving Leeds for Manchester United, despite being a boyhood Leeds supporter.
There have been multiple transfers between Manchester United and Leeds down the years.
Even though there is a fierce rivalry between the two clubs, Sir Alex Ferguson owes one of his best-ever transfer pursuits to Leeds – after agreeing a bargain deal to take Eric Cantona from Elland Road following their Premier League triumph in 1992.
The bitter rivalry will be reignited on Sunday when Ruben Amorim’s side take on Leeds away from home.
Sir Alex Ferguson once said the intensity of Man Utd vs Leeds makes Liverpool games look calm. Is he right?
Leeds drew with Liverpool on Thursday night, but manager Daniel Farke is unhappy about the 12.30pm kick-off time.
To prepare for the game, United In Focus takes a look back at one of the most controversial transfers that took place between United and Leeds.
Man Utd spent £7m to sign Alan Smith from Leeds in 2004
With Amorim set to take on Leeds for the first time as United head coach, he must do his research about what the fixture means to the fans.
Every United fan wants three points as well as bragging rights on Sunday, with few people having shared connections between the two clubs like former striker Alan Smith.
Smith is the last player to move from Elland Road to Old Trafford, and as a boyhood Leeds fan, ‘Smudge’ knew it was always going to be a controversial switch, despite the fact that the West Yorkshire outfit had been relegated in 2004.
Amid transfer interest from Everton and Newcastle, Ferguson opted to spend £7 million to sign Smith from Leeds.
“I’d often discussed Alan with my coaching staff and we concluded by saying: ‘He’s a Leeds boy and he would never come here’,” Ferguson said, as quoted by ManUtd.com.
“Once Leeds were relegated, it was obvious a player of his ability could never stay there. But then I was told he was willing to join us and that he wasn’t interested in the past. I said: ‘That will do for me’ because it was a brave decision.”
Has there ever been a better deal than Man Utd signing Eric Cantona from Leeds?
Former chairman Martin Edwards pulled off the heist of the century!
Alan Smith record at Man Utd
Smith spent three years at Old Trafford and went from a fiery striker to a hard-tackling midfielder, especially after Roy Keane left United for Celtic.
He made 93 appearances for United, scoring 12 goals and registering 11 assists.
Smith won the Premier League and Carabao Cup during his time at Old Trafford.
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