Javier Hernandez - Manchester United's Natural Born Saviour

So as one £50 million striker bagged his first goal after 734 minutes of the most expensive scoring drought in history, Javier Hernandez netted his 18th of the season, and in the process edged Manchester United to their 19th league title.

Signed for a princely sum of £8 million from Mexican side Chivas, Hernandez has shown all the prowess that has eluded Fernando Torres since his arrival at Stamford Bridge in January.

His header, six minutes from time, dampened the hearts of a resolute Everton who had defended superbly at Old Trafford on Saturday and were worth of maintaining their seven-game unbeaten run. But the striker has displayed his knack for popping up with crucial goals over the course of this season and his arrival must go down as one of United's best purchases in recent years.

Unsurprisingly, the stats enhance Hernandez’s reputation as one of the Premier League’s best acquisitions this season. The Mexican’s 18 goals in all competitions come at a rate of one every 119 minutes, which for an inaugural season in one of the most physically imposing divisions in the world, as well as a debut campaign in the toughest club tournament, is impressive.

Even more vital for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side has been the nature of the goals Hernandez has pitched in with. Six of his strikes this term have won the game for United, while another was a vital equaliser against Blackpool, having been two goals behind at Bloomfield Road.

Hernandez typifies the clichéd off-the-shoulder striker. His movement is intelligent, as well as sharp. By playing off the last man, the 22-year-old constantly runs the risk of being caught offside, but again, the stats highlight his rapid adaptation to the Premier League.

On average, Hernandez has been caught offside 0.8 times per game, while the Premier League’s leading scorer, Dimitar Berbatov (1.1), Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez (1.1), Fernando Torres (0.9) and Aston Villa’s £24 million signing Darren Bent (1.9) have all seen the linesman’s flag raised more frequently.

So while being lambasted for being responsible for one of the worst buys of the season in the £7.4m Bebe, Ferguson pulled off a masterstroke which has been influential in his side domestic and European title hunt.