Vieira voted English football’s greatest import

PATRICK VIEIRA has been voted the greatest foreign player ever in English football.

The Arsenal midfielder has earned the accolade from a powerful panel of experts asked to name their all-time top teams of international imports. Vieira polled 17 of 20 possible votes from a group of top managers and players including Bobby Robson, Claudio Ranieri, Graham Taylor and Tom Finney.

The full results form part of a new book entitled “England, Their England” -a comprehensive new history of the over 1,700 overseas-born players ever to play in England.