Gary Neville responds to Jamie Carragher's top midfielder list with 'bias' dig and new No 1
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SportFootballGary NevilleGary Neville has labelled his Sky Sports pal Jamie Carragher "biased" after seeing his list of top Premier League midfielders - and offered his own perspective with a new No 1Gary Neville responded to Jamie Carragher's list of greatest central midfielders by naming Roy Keane as his No 1 - whilst dropping Steven Gerrard in at fourth.The Manchester United great claimed he "wasn't as biased" as his Sky Sports colleague, who did name his long-time Liverpool team-mate as his top pick. But Neville went with Keane, stating on his podcast: "I don't think there's ever been a more influential football player in the Premier League.
An incredible attacking player, similar traits to Vieira but I think a level up when it comes to goalscoring." Neville also added: "I think if Jamie Carragher is selecting the No 1 central midfield player in Premier League history you can't choose anybody else but Roy Keane really and I don't think many would."After naming Vieira as his runner-up he went with Scholes in third, describing him as the "best player that I ever played with at Manchester United." He dropped him down the list simply because his versatility meant he played off the striker, only dropping into a central midfield role for periods of his career.Gerrard, the man that Carragher named on top of his list, was Neville's fourth pick. Again he acknowledged his versatility as part of the reason he wasn't higher up.
Neville admits he wasn't sold at first, but has seen him morph into a world class player.He said: "When he first came to the Premier League, I wasn't actually that convinced in that first season then all of a sudden he turned into a very special midfield player at the heart of a treble-winning team. He's been in the Premier League for roughly five years and if he had been in here for 10-12 years then he'd be challenging for the players that I'm going to name in one, two and three."Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content.