Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham make Dean Ashton’s best-ever Premier League XI

As a fan I feel blessed to have seen a number of fantastic players grace the Premier League.

Former West Ham and Norwich City striker Dean Ashton has named his all-time best Premier League XI for talkSPORT.

He listed four Manchester United players but none of them feature in the current team, which is hardly a surprise, unless Bruno Fernandes builds on his form over a sustained period of time.

Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham were named on the left and right sides of the midfield respectively, while Rio Ferdinand and Peter Schmeichel were selected at the back.

The only player from the current squads to make Ashton’s Premier League XI is Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.

We would have Gary Neville ahead of the young England full-back, but that could change by the end of his career, with Trent now just 21-years-old.

On Schmeichel, Ashton said: “He set a standard. His goalkeeping, his presence, his attitude. He was scary — not only for his own team but for strikers too!”

On Ferdinand: “The toughest player I ever played against. Most defenders you could get up against and get hold of and have a bit of a scrap with physically which I enjoyed.

“But Ferdinand didn’t want to get involved. He was too clever and he’d just stand off you.”

Then rather controversially, Ashley Cole takes the left-back slot and Denis Irwin is left out!

His midfield duo — Steven Gerrard and Patrick Vieira — could definitely be improved, but at least he named two wingers from the most dominated club in Premier League history.

On Becks, Ashton added: “In terms of delivery, he excelled. He set a standard for everyone to live up to. Trent Alexander-Arnold is the only one who’s come close in terms of delivery from that right-hand side. Beckham was a striker’s dream.”

And, finally, on Ronaldo: “I don’t think we even saw the best of Ronaldo in the Premier League but he had those seasons with the amount of goals he scored and it made me think there’s not many players in the Premier League that was that lethal so young.”

Up front he went with Dennis Bergkamp and Alan Shearer.

Let us know what you think of Ashton’s all-time Premier League XI on Twitter (@StrettyNews).

READ MORE: (Video) Man Utd target confirms he’s staying put at Premier League club

More Stories Cristiano Ronaldo David Beckham Dean Ashton Peter schmeichel Rio Ferdinand