The Premier League Hall of Fame is officially here. 

As was widely expected, Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer became the two inaugural inductees. 

In 2021, they'll be joined by six more legends, who will be picked by fans from a 23-man shortlist. 

It goes without saying that whittling down the modern era of English football's top flight to just a couple of dozen icons is incredibly difficult. 

Shearer was an obvious choice because he holds the record for Premier League goals (260) and won the title with Blackburn Rovers. Henry, meanwhile, is considered by many to be the greatest striker in the competition's history and spearheaded Arsenal's Invincibles. 

To make things a little easier, however, the Hall of Fame has installed a few criteria. 

First, players must be retired - that counts out the likes of Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane. 

Players must also have made a minimum of 250 Premier league appearances, or alternatively:

  • Made 200 league appearances for one club
  • Won a Golden Boot or Golden Glove
  • Been named as Premier League Player of the Season
  • Won three titles
  • Reached 100 goals or 100 clean sheets. 

Only their Premier League achievements are being recognised, so any European or cup feats aren't considered. 

So who makes the cut? Shearer and Henry were the obvious choices for the top two, but predicting the next six gets a little trickier. Nevertheless, GIVEMESPORT have given it some thought and we think we've compiled the 23-man shortlist. 

For obvious reasons, Ryan Giggs has not been included in the current conversation as it seems unlikely the Premier League will include the Welshman given his ongoing legal situation. 

THE SIX TO BE INCLUDED IN 2021:

Frank Lampard

Steven Gerrard

Roy Keane

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Wayne Rooney 

John Terry

Patrick Vieira

Gerrard is the only one of the six not to have won the title (as he's constantly reminded), but over 500 appearances and 120 goals from midfield, as well as his status among the greatest midfielders the league has seen, means he deserves a place. 

Keane, meanwhile, has a ludicrous haul of seven league titles in nine years, even surpassing Rooney's five. The latter, however, became United's record goalscorer and sits second behind Shearer in the all-time chart. 

Lampard, similarly, reached the peak of the Chelsea tree with 177 goals *from midfield*. His skipper John Terry deserves recognition as arguably the Premier League's best defender and five titles. Vieira only won three, but he did captain Arsenal's Invincibles. 

THE REST OF THE SHORTLIST: 

Peter Schmeichel

Rio Ferdinand

Paul Scholes

Eric Cantona 

Ashley Cole

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Petr Cech

Gary Neville 

Dennis Bergkamp

Vincent Kompany

Didier Drogba

Andy Cole 

Nemanja Vidic

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Gianfranco Zola

Robbie Fowler

David Beckham

Edwin van der Sar 

Robin van Persie

Nobody wants to see the Hall of Fame become another accolade for goalscorers only.

We make it three goalkeepers who have shoehorned their way in - Cech, Van der Sar and Schmeichel. 

Kompany also has to be recognised for his four league titles with City, while Vidic is considered by many to be the Premier League's best ever centre-back. 

The Hall of Fame is likely to be littered with United players - indeed organisers might have to make some tough calls simply to avoid looking like the Old Trafford museum - but there's no keeping out treble-winners Scholes, Schmeichel, Neville, Cole and Beckham. 

Believe it or not, Drogba only just qualifies having made 254 appearances for Chelsea and scored 104 goals, though he also won four titles. It would have been an injustice for the Ivorian to miss out.

Agree with our list? The Premier League's official 23-man shortlist will be announced later today and some huge names could miss out.