Roy Keane has revealed that Paul Scholes was his preferred midfield partner during his time at Manchester United.
The pair spent the best part of 12 years playing together at Old Trafford, Scholes being promoted to the first team shortly after Keane arrived from Nottingham Forest in 1993.
And Keane believes it was Scholes' game which best complemented his in the centre of the park.
‘Me and Scholsey had a good relationship and I played with loads of players but if I had to pick anyone, it would be Scholes,' the Sky Sports pundit said following his former club's 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Monday night.
'Scholes would go forward, I would sit and vice versa. I always enjoyed playing with him and the same with Paul Ince.’
The Irishman believes the Premier League, and particularly United, are lacking players who can truly do the job that he once did.
'Nobody springs to mind,' he responded when asked who he thinks is good in his position. 'Kante – yeah good player. You saw Paul Pogba tonight, shocking. The times he gave the ball away cheaply. It’s criminal.'
Keane also discussed which midfielders he found the biggest challenge to play against during his career.
'Gary Speed was a top player to come up against and people always remember me kicking people but they guys were kicking me. I was just retaliating. Zinedine Zidane was nasty, very very nasty but brilliant.'
The 48-year-old went on to give his thoughts about the position in general and the importance of getting forward and getting goals.
'That was part of my role,' he explained. 'If you’re playing midfield, you have to get a goal. At Forest I worked with really good strikers and had to be on the turn. Sometimes I’d be a headless chicken.
'When I first arrived at United, I didn’t think I was getting involved in the build-up. I don’t think I had the confidence to do it. Bryan Robson said: ‘If you want to get better, you’re going to have to get more involved’, and if I didn’t listen, what chance did I have?
'The priority for a midfielder is "can I pass it forward?" I had options. You’re supposed to pass it forward. Zip it into him, give him a chance. You had great options when you are at Manchester United. It was a simple pass but I made a living out of it.'