'Sir Alex Ferguson has me to thank for signing Man Utd icon - he fell off his chair'

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich has claimed Sir Alex Ferguson has him to thank for signing club icon Dwight Yorke. The Australian was a team-mate and close friend of Yorke's during their time at Aston Villa in the mid-90s.

It was the summer of 1998 when Sir Alex made his move to bring the Trinidadian striker to Old Trafford after scoring 97 in 284 appearances for Villa. The acquisition of Yorke for £12.6million proved to be a masterstroke as he instantly made a vital impact, netting 29 times during United's historic treble-winning campaign in 1998/99

However, Bosnich has now revealed that the Red Devils were initially on the fence about Yorke due to doubts about his character. That was until the Australian received a phone call from his former United youth coach Eric Harrison and reassured him of his personal qualities.

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Speaking on ex-United and Wrexham shot-stopper Ben Foster's Fozcast podcast, Bosnich said Yorke was stunned when he heard the news.

"Eric Harrison originally got in contact with me and asked about him and his character," he said. "At the time, he said there was a debate about whether or not he'd be the right person. I told him, and I told the manager that he'll win you the European Cup and he did.

"He was the final piece of that jigsaw. I thought with Yorkie coming in, he's something a little bit different. He struck up a really good partnership with Andy Cole and they were phenomenal that year.

"When they were ringing, it put me in a difficult position, because it was like, 'Well, don't say anything to him,' and then I'm going out with him that night for dinner. Of course, I told him and he immediately fell out of his chair."

After winning the treble, Yorke also bagged his fair share the following term with 23 goals during the 1999/2000 season. One of his best performances for United came in February 2001, when he scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 demolition of Arsenal at Old Trafford.

He scored 65 goals in 152 appearances for the Premier League giants between 1998 and 2002 before moving to Blackburn Rovers. Yorke and Bosnich were reunited in 1999 during the keeper's ill-fated second stint at United.

Bosnich said the key to getting the best out of the striker was to adopt a soft approach towards him. He added that he passed this advice on to Sir Alex ahead of Yorke's arrival at United.

"Dwight is as tough as they come, but he's very emotional too," he said. "In a dressing room scenario, you have to put your arm around him if you want the best out of him and I told this to Fergie.

"It was sort of a love-hate a little bit with him and Ron Atkinson [at Villa]. Then when Brian Little came in, he really put his arm around him. That really brought the best out of him and he was scoring 20 plus goals."

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