Sir Alex Ferguson will go down in history as one of football’s greatest-ever managers.

Back in December 1995, Manchester United were in the middle of a injury crisis in central defence. Key senior defenders Gary Pallister, Steve Bruce and David May were all unavailable for selection.

United needed a new centre-back and quickly. Cantona suggested a mate who he had played with at the Auxerre academy.

William Prunier, 28, jumped at the chance to move to the Red Devils and bought himself out of his contract at Bordeaux to secure a dream transfer.

It was initially on a trial basis, the idea being that United could look at Prunier during training sessions and see if he was up to scratch.

But then that plan never worked out and due to another injury blow, this time to the uber reliable Denis Irwin, Prunier was thrown into deep-end.

He performed well in his debut, even getting an assist for Andy Cole in a 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers on 30 December.

He also smashed a long-range effort against the bar and looked like he could do a job for United.

But the second Premier League outing did not got anywhere near as smoothly after Ferguson had said it would be the real test for Prunier.

United, with their makeshift backline, travelled to White Hart Lane to play Spurs just days later and their preparations were affected by Paul Scholes falling ill before kick-off, and Peter Schmeichel pulling his calf but soldiering on as best he could for the first 45 minutes.

What followed was a crushing 4-1 defeat on New Year's Day, a result that put an end to Prunier's United experience.

He was said to have been offered an "extended trial" despite the player himself claiming a three-year deal was on the table but couldn't be thrashed out.

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In his 2015 autobiography, 'Leading', Ferguson labelled Prunier as “a disaster” and he was voted as United's sixth worst-ever player in a poll.

Prunier amassed nearly 500 appearances and, in addition to winning the Intertoto Cup alongside Zinedine Zidane at Bordeaux, played for Auxerre, Copenhagen, Marseille, Napoli and Toulouse.

He did also sign a deal with Hearts but never played a single game after not feeling wanted.

Prunier was capped once by France and named in the 2002/03 Ligue One Team of the Year.

Asked if being described as a flop annoys him, Prunier told The Telegraph: "No, everyone thinks what they want. It was a very enriching experience, a dream and an honour, and I don’t regret it."

https://youtu.be/CRfIFuGxaKM?si=vzQcmszwgPY7WvWJ

Selena Gomez reveals the meaning of her new hit song Single Soon: 'It's a playful anthem about being comfortable in your own skin'

Selena Gomez explained the meaning behind her newly released song Single Soon on Friday.

The day after releasing the catchy track, the singer, 31, took to her Instagram to share a black-and-white photo from the adjoining music video and also thanked her fans for their support.

In her caption, she left a short but sweet message and provided insight into the significance of her song.

The Only Murders in the Building actress — who recently made a rare remark on her breakup with Justin Bieber — began: 'Thank you guys for all the love on Single Soon!!!

'It's a playful anthem about being comfortable in your own skin and loving your own company,' she continued.

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Real meaning: Selena Gomez explained the meaning behind her newly released song Single Soon on Friday, while sharing a snap for the music video

Alongside a pink hearts emoji, she added, 'And it's also really fun to dance to!'

The solo picture she had shared was of a shot from her music video — which she dropped on Thursday night.

In the scene, she was dressed in a slinky and sexy minidress as she laughed and danced with her gal pals post-breakup.

Her many fans — of which she boasts about 428 million on Instagram alone — raved about her musical comeback.

With Single Soon, this marks her first solo track release in three years.

Many of her fans praised the song and gushed that it was 'heartwarming' to see her so 'carefree, happy and confident' after a slew of personal struggles in the past.

On August 17, she announced to fans that she would be finally dropping some new music and revealed the release date.

She shared a carousel of images teasing the music video release and wrote in her caption: 'Y'all have been asking for new music for a while.

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Flying solo: 'It's a playful anthem about being comfortable in your own skin and loving your own company,' she told fans

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New music: Single Soon is the first single from her upcoming album as well as her first musical release since her Spanish-language EP Revelacion — which was released in March 2021

Selena Gomez teases her upcoming song 'Single Soon' on TikTok

In her inscription, she also teased a forthcoming third studio album to the excitement of her fans.

'Since I'm not quite done with SG3, I wanted to put out a fun little song I wrote a while back that's perfect for the end of summer.'

The track was produced by benny blanco and Cashmere Cat, and the video adjoining music video was directed by Philip Andelman.

Single Soon is the first single from her upcoming album as well as her first musical release since her Spanish-language EP Revelacion — which was released in March 2021.