Who says you have to spend the earth to produce a team that can compete with the best that the Premier League has to offer?

Silly money has been paid for the likes of Andriy Shevchenko (£30m) of Chelsea, Liverpool's Fernando Torres (£25m) and Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand (£31m). But, for the canny boss – and they don't come any shrewder than Pompey's Harry Redknapp and Arsenal's Arsene Wenger – that kind of dosh could buy an entire team that is capable of mixing it with the big boys.

In fact we have put together a side that we reckon could give the top clubs a run for all their money ...

Goalkeeper
Kasper Schmeichel could possibly be the best bargain here. Despite a series of fine Premier League appearances, along with his age, and potential, Manchester City value him at only £1.2m.

‘Roberto Carlos could provide this team with an attacking wing-back. Priced close to £2.3m, despite being 34 now, his experience could prove priceless.’


Defenders
Fredrik Stoor is at the heart of the Rosenborg defence. He marvellously marked David Villa, while maintaining a clean sheet against a tough Valencia side in the Champions League. He proved he can compete with the best and is priced at around £2.1m.

Branislav Ivanovic of Lokomotiv Moscow had a number of leading clubs asking for his services after his impressive performances for Serbia in the European U-21 championships. However, most clubs were unwilling to pay his £2.7m tag.

Former Rangers and Monaco defender Julien Rodriguez – now at Marseille – would provide some much-needed experience to this young defence. His latest transfer fee was £1.5m, but after a splendid rise in form these past years, he would not leave for anything less than £2.5m.

Roberto Carlos of Fenerbahce could provide this team with an attacking wing-back. Priced close to £2.3m, despite being 34 years old now his experience could prove priceless.

Midfielders
Tranquillo Barnetta, a cult hero in Switzerland who plies his trade with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. He was short-listed for Best Young Player at the 2006 World Cup. An offer under £5m would not even be worth considering. Despite that being 20 per cent of all my transfer funds, I believe he is worth it.

Dubbed the Austrian David Beckham, Andreas Ivanschitz is a quick, technical, winger. He is a good passer as well. An offer of £3m seems fair to Red Bull Salzburg – he is currently on loan at Panathinaikos.

Jesper Gronkjaer – once of Chelsea and Birmingham City – would prove another formidable signing. He joined FC Copenhagen for  £2.5 million last year. I would estimate his price now to be around £1.5m.

Claude Makelele. I know I'll get some stick, but for a £1m, he seems like a bargain for the Chelsea man – plus I free up some funds for strikers.

Forwards
Arsene Wenger said if you poach Arsenal players, you will have a decent team. A towering Nicklas Bendtner could leave for £2.4m. Don't let his Arsenal form overshadow his international form for Denmark, five goals in 10 games. A sort of Peter Crouch figure, eh?

Finally, Theofanis Gekas of Bayer Leverkusen is a name you might not have heard of. He has a career total of 111 goals in 215 games. He was also placed eighth, behind Didier Drogba in the 2006 European Golden Boot Award. His current valuation is around £1.4m.