David Moyes was appointed by Manchester United in 2013 as the successor of Sir Alex Ferguson and he was chosen by the great united boss himself. Moyes left Everton after 11-year’s in charge to take the United job but after inconsistent performances, was sacked before the end of the season. The 56-year-old is now managing West Ham in the Premier League and in a recent interview opened up about his time in Manchester and some of the players he missed out on. Paul Pogba Reveals Reason Behind Leaving Manchester United in 2012.

While speaking to Richard Keys and Andy Gray from beIN Sports, Moyes was asked to recall some of the transfer near misses he had in his career. ‘One of them would be Michael Essien, that was actually to bring him to Everton,’ the former Toffees boss said. ‘Toni Kroos would certainly be the one for Manchester United’ he added.

The West Ham manager also revealed the other players he tried to sign for Manchester United ‘At that time we [Manchester United] were very much after Gareth Bale and Cesc Fabregas but I’ve got to say prior to that, at Everton, we were really close to close to a lot of good players. We just couldn’t quite get them over the line on several occasions.’

The West Ham manager also talked about the time players will require to get back upto match fitness once football resumed after the coronavirus pandemic. ‘I think that four weeks would be ideal. But I think three weeks will be the maximum we get, I think the players will have kept themselves in better condition so I would hope that we could start a bit quicker.’ He said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 15, 2020 02:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).