It is now 40 years to the day since Alex Ferguson arrived at Manchester United on November 6, 1986.At Old Trafford he would go on, despite some initial wobbles to build one of the most incredible dynasties football has ever seen.United’s last league title came in 2013, and they have come nowhere close to repeating the feat ever sinceGettyThe iconic manager built various super teams during his 27 years at Manchester United, featuring several Premier League Hall of Famers.The legendary Scot also made over 100 permanent player signings during his near-three decades at the helm at Old Trafford, despite famously utilising the club’s academy.talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook has now whittled down that number to only the best.Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles during his time at the Red Devils, also broke the British transfer record five times.From his first permanent signing of Liam O’Brien in November 1986 to Wilfried Zaha in January 2013, here are his top 10…Alex Ferguson’s top 10 Man United signings10. Robin van Persie Ferguson was still reeling from missing out on the title to Manchester City’s Aguero moment when he convinced his great rival Wenger to part with Robin van Persie for £22.5m at the start of what would be his last season in charge. Van Persie arrived with a reputation as a talented but injury-prone striker but managed to stay fit for the whole of that 2012/13 campaign and was United’s key man as Fergie strode off into retirement with his 13th Premier League winners’ medal draped around his neck.Van Persie scored 30 goals in all competitions, including a memorable volley against Aston Villa in the game that sealed top spot and won the prestigious Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award. Without the Dutchman, Ferguson would probably not have got his happy ending.Van Persie was given a guard of honour by his ex-teammates after winning the title with Man UnitedGetty9. Jaap StamStam’s United career may have been a fleeting one, but there is a reason why Ferguson lists selling the towering Dutchman as one of his biggest regrets. Stam was recruited from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 1998 as a key part of Ferguson’s masterplan to wrestle the league title back from Arsenal’s grasp as the rivalry between the Scot and Arsene Wenger reached its peak. United fans could have been forgiven for thinking what they’d bought after seeing Stam given the runaround by Nicolas Anelka in a 3-0 Charity Shield defeat at the hands of the Gunners.But by the end of his maiden season, Stam had won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, establishing himself as one of Europe’s finest defenders. His ‘Yip Jaap Stam’ song still regularly rings around the Old Trafford stands to this day.Ferguson has openly admitted that selling Stam to Lazio in 2001 was one of his biggest mistakesGetty8. Rio FerdinandFerdinand was another player to cross the Pennines from Leeds to Manchester, and his £30m switch from Elland Road was the saga of the summer in 2002. Ferdinand arrived at Old Trafford in a fetching all-white suit on the back of a brilliant World Cup for England and quickly established himself as a fan favourite and one of the best centre-backs on the planet. His double act with Nemanja Vidic, who narrowly missed out on my top ten, is one of the best the Premier League has ever seen. The pair were at the heart of that Champions League final win over Chelsea in Moscow in 2008.Ferdinand featured in the PFA Team of the Year four times in five yearsGetty7. Denis IrwinIrwin was another relatively low-budget arrival from unfancied Oldham but is arguably second only to Ashley Cole as the best left-back of the Premier League era. The humble Corkonian made more than half of his 1000 career appearances in the famous red jersey and was a key part of the 1999 treble-winning team. Comfortable playing with both feet, Irwin could also strike a wicked free-kick, as illustrated by his sensational strike against Liverpool at Anfield and was reliable from the penalty spot.Denis Irwin (right) was vital to United’s success at the turn of the millenniumgetty6. Steve BruceMark Robins is credited with scoring the most important goal of Ferguson’s tenure to keep his manager in a job, but Steve Bruce’s memorable double against Sheffield Wednesday in April 1993 runs him a close second. United had thrown away the title the previous season and were in danger of doing so again when Bruce struck twice in ‘Fergie Time’ to turn a 1-0 defeat into a 2-1 win. The Red Devils would go on to be crowned champions for the first time in 26 years, with Bruce donning the captain’s armband. As an uncompromising centre-back, he also scored 19 goals in one season as United won the 1991 European Cup Winners’ Cup, beating the mighty Barcelona in the final and formed a formidable partnership with Gary Pallister in the early 90s.Bruce was there when Man United ended a 26-year wait for a league title in 1993Getty5. Wayne Rooney‘Remember the name’. Rooney was already a precocious talent when Ferguson paid £30m to lure him away from Everton in 2004. The 18-year-old was born for the Old Trafford stage and never looked back after a memorable debut hat-trick against Fenerbahce. During a 13-year stint, Rooney eclipsed the great Sir Bobby Charlton as United’s all-time leading scorer with an incredible 253 goals in 559 appearances, a record that may never be broken. He is also the only player to notch 200 Premier League goals and 100 assists. Rooney won five Premier League titles as well as every major domestic honour and two European trophies.Rooney won five league titles with United and is the club’s all-time leading scorerGetty4. Roy KeaneFerguson was lucky enough to have some great captains, from Bryan Robson to Steve Bruce and Cantona to Gary Neville. However, none drove his teammates on and raised standards with the same ferocity as Keane. The volatile Irishman was signed from Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest for a then-British record £3.75m in the summer of 1993 and won the double in his first season. Keane sadly fell out with Fergie at the end of his United career, and the pair have never patched up the differences, but his selfless performance in the 1999 Champions League semi-final at Juventus, knowing he would miss the final due to suspension, is one of the greatest individual displays in the club’s modern history.Keane became an icon at Manchester United and won seven Premier League titlesGetty3. Cristiano RonaldoWhile I cannot rank him above my top two, Ronaldo is undoubtedly the best player I have seen in a United shirt. Signed from Sporting as a scrawny 18-year-old after terrorising the Red Devils during a pre-season friendly, CR7 shrugged off the tag of show pony from his early days at Old Trafford to become a global superstar, scoring 118 goals in 292 games before completing a dream £80m move to Real Madrid. Ronaldo was the driving force behind Ferguson’s second Champions League triumph in 2008, scoring 42 times in all competitions, including a brilliant header in the final. Ronaldo still sees Ferguson as a father figure, who gave him the platform to win five Ballon d’Ors.Ronaldo has often spoken about the impact Ferguson has had on his career2. Peter SchmeichelNot many people had heard of Peter Schmeichel when Ferguson plucked him from Danish minnows Brondby for just £505,000 in the summer of 1991. The Great Dane, famed for berating his defenders on the rare occasions he actually conceded, is widely acclaimed as the best goalkeeper in Premier League history. A 1992 European champion with Denmark, he also got the perfect send-off by captaining United to their famous 1999 Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich in his last game, which completed the historic treble.Schmeichel captained United to victory in the 1999 Champions League final to complete the trebleGetty1. Eric CantonaThe undisputed ‘King’ of the Ferguson era and the catalyst for United’s 1990s domination that transformed the club. The Red Devils were eighth in the Premier League when Cantona, complete with his upturned collar and French flair, arrived for a bargain £1.2m fee in November 1992. Having missed out on the title to his former club Leeds at the end of the previous season, United would go on to be crowned champions in four of the Frenchman’s five seasons, winning two league and FA Cup doubles. Cantona’s infamous kung-fu attack on a Crystal Palace and ‘Seagulls’ speech only added to his cult hero status.