Manchester United great Roy Keane says he never saw Juan Veron's arrival as a threat.

The Argentine midfielder was signed by United in 2001 to provide competition for the likes of Keane, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.

But rather than fear for his position, Keane relished Veron's arrival.

"I always enjoyed that. That was probably my favourite part of being at a brilliant club," Keane told Sky Sports. "When I first went to United you had Incey [Paul Ince], Robbo [Bryan Robson], Butty coming through, Scholesy, and then Veron.

"I used to get excited when the club would sign a big player because that's the nature of the game.

"Even when I first came to United, I remember shaking hands with Robbo, a player I had big respect for, but Robbo knew I was after his position.

"So when other lads were coming through, and even Veron's a good example. Veron came to the club, he was an excellent player, okay it didn't work out for him at United, but he was an excellent player."