The Premier League's Hall of Fame: Who Gets in First?

The Premier League have officially launched its Hall of Fame, with the first two players being inducted on March 19. Each player who is installed into the Hall of Fame must be retired at the time of their induction and only their careers in the Premier League will be considered.

This means legendary names such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic will most likely not be included, based on the fact they had just one year in the Premier League and made a name for themselves elsewhere in Europe. On the other hand, this certainly means gargantuan names such as Ryan Giggs, Alan Shearer and Gareth Barry will undoubtedly be included at some point down the years.

With that said, and with the Premier League's intention of adding two players next month, we take a look at who could be the first two to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.

At some point, naturally, Shearer will make his way into the Premier League Hall of Fame, whether it be in March or sometime next year. The Newcastle United hero is the all-time leading scorer in the competition, bagging 260 goals spread throughout his careers with the Magpies and Blackburn Rovers; the latter he won a league title with.

Down the years, the Premier League have been blessed with legendary strikers such as Wayne Rooney, Thierry Henry, Sergio Aguero, and Didier Drogba, to name a few. So, to be able to brag of scoring more than anyone else is an almighty thing to boast after almost 30 years of competition in arguably the most competitive division on the planet.

Shearer may well be the first name in the Hall of Fame, and if goals are anything to go by, his face will undoubtedly be hung on the wall, polished and pristine for all to see.

Sky Bet price Alan Shearer at 1/3 to be named in the first-ever Premier League Hall of Fame induction on March 19.

For a lot of fans - particularly Manchester United followers - Giggs will be the first man inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame. Only Gareth Barry has played more times in the competition, whilst at the same time, the Welsh wizard has won more Premier League titles than anybody else with 13 trophies to his name.

Giggs also boasts the record of the most assists in the competition with 162 - only Cesc Fabregas comes close with 111. Indeed, the records continue to add up, as the United legend is also the only man to score in each of the first 21 Premier League seasons, and has six PFA Team of the Year spots, a PFA Player of the Year award, and a PFA Team of the Century place.

Now retired and manager of his nation, Giggs is arguably the best to do it in his respective position and was the main name during United's 20-year dominance of Premier League football. Without this man, there may not be the bellowing sound of "20 times" at Old Trafford each week, and the cultural impact of British football will be vastly different for all followers who dream of smashing the ball in with their left peg.

ICYMI: Read our great debate inspired by Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher about Ryan Giggs and Sadio Mane.

Sky Bet have priced Ryan Giggs at 4/9 to be named in the first-ever Premier League Hall of Fame induction on March 19.

Barry is one of those names who people mention and you initially giggle. But then, you consider his unrivalled appearance record of 653 outings and his performances at Manchester City and Aston Villa, then, suddenly, he becomes one of the first inductees for all fans.

The Englishman is still active, plying his trade for West Bromwich Albion in the Championship, and played his last Premier League game in 2018. Now, with a Premier League title at City, 653 appearances, 53 goals and 64 assists, Barry is unquestionably soon to be in the Premier League Hall of Fame.

Yes, even the likes of Steven Gerrard may make it in ahead of the ex-Everton man, despite not winning a league title himself. However, we cannot overlook his incredibly impressive record and consistency over 20 years of top-flight action.

He might not have smashed them in like Frank Lampard, cut defences open like David Silva, or won trophies like Paul Scholes. But Barry is a true Premier League legend and a role model for anybody aspiring to be at the top and stay there.

Of course, Barry will not be able to make it onto the list as he is not retired and could well be playing in the Premier League next year, should West Brom get promoted.

Whatever debate you have regarding Premier League defenders, you'll find very few people who don't put John Terry in the heart of their defence on their all-time XI. Yes, we have since been blessed with the likes of Virgil Van Dijk and had the privilege of witnessing players such as Rio Ferdinand and Vincent Kompany down the years. But, none of these players have played in title-challenging (often winning) teams for two decades; Terry played 492 times in the Premier League for Chelsea with five league titles to boast of.

Players like Ferdinand, on the other hand, spent 13 seasons during United's unrivalled success, and whilst this certainly qualifies, it might not get ahead of Terry during the initial months of the Hall of Fame. There will, of course, be debates on which captains make their way onto the acclaimed list, most notably, Roy Keane. And whilst Keane is perhaps the greatest ever Premier League captain, Terry did it for longer and even when he left Chelsea in 2017, he was still capable of doing the job.

The Stamford Bridge hero is perhaps the best defender to ever do it in the Premier League and it would be criminal to not put him in the top five names to be included.

Sky Bet are offering odds of 16/1 for Terry to be included in the Hall of Fame.

When you put the kettle on and sit down to debate the new Hall of Fame, the vast amount of names suddenly spring to mind. Does Jamie Vardy's unrivalled rise to the top get in? How long does it take to include Steven Gerrard, despite never winning the title? Who gets in first out of Drogba and Henry? Does the panel look at players such as Emile Heskey and David James, who may not boast of illustrious CV's, but were consistently at the top for over a decade?

There are set to be a plethora of names spread across social media in this debate, and almost each one will have little argument against. For example, even Mohamed Salah - despite playing just three seasons - has to included based off his unrivalled goalscoring feat.

At the same time, does the Premier League include players like Wes Morgan based off of their incredible captaincy rule during Leicester City's title win? Or how about the likes of Matt Le Tissier who lit up the Premier League for years, but only at Southampton?

The names will roll in over the next month and each debate is beautifully unique.

Sky Bet are offering odds for Henry at 2/1, Scholes at 6/1, Gerrard at 40/1, Eric Cantona at 20/1, whilst Petr Cech is the shortest-priced goalkeeper at 20/1.