SIR Alex Ferguson opened a can of worms when he said Ruud Van Nistelrooy was the best striker around.

Into the debate comes Arsene Wenger with his choice of Thierry Henry and then Claudio Ranieri says they're both wrong and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is tops.

What about Michael Owen? Or, if we're really going to open up the discussion, how can you ignore Michael Ricketts?

Personally, Henry gets my vote by a million miles but if you're talking about this season alone then Ricketts is overshadowed by nobody.

He is the Premiership's highest scoring Englishman and his performances at United and Villa proves he's not just a goalscorer and the fact he is still only 22 adds another few million to his transfer value.

His goals per minutes on the pitch puts any striker to shame and just think how many he would score if he was in van Nistelrooy's place and able to benefit from the number of chances United create. Click HERE for the latest Wanderers news