Manchester United have had more than a few transfer targets that sometimes looked destined to be Old Trafford-bound but never came to fruition.
The likes of Wesley Sneijder, Gareth Bale, Leighton Baines and Nicolas Gaitan were all several names which cropped up as linked to Manchester United in transfer rumour articles year after year.
But, with hindsight in our favour, we know that not a single one ever formulated. Talks may have been had, but none of these names ever donned the famous red and white strip at Old Trafford.
Another name that always seemed to come about in recent times has to be Paulo Dybala. The Argentine was linked to many English clubs most summers, including United even last season, but always tended to stay put in Italy.
However, a move to the Red Devils may have been closer than anyone anticipated, as he recently revealed.
Paulo Dybala says how he almost joined Manchester United
Speaking to The Athletic, Dybala revealed how he almost joined Manchester United back in 2019.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer allegedly wanted Dybala, Juventus, the club the Argentine was with at the time, we’re open to negotiations.
The Italian club’s former chief football officer, Fabio Paratici, proposed a swap deal that would also see Romelu Lukaku move in the other direction.
“That summer, I remember there was an approach from Manchester United as well as Tottenham but it was more Manchester because Juve wanted to make that move,” Dybala said.
“It was the season Juve appointed (Maurizio) Sarri, so I spoke to him to find out if he really didn’t want me on the team. After our chat, my intention was to stay. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay because I was happy (in Turin). That was my best year.”
Again, with hindsight, we know this never came about. Instead, Dybala spent three more seasons at the Old Lady, before moving to Roma in 2022.
Manchester United missed out on one sweet left foot, but was it bullet dodged?
Dybala has been one of the best players to grace the Seria A in the 21st century, with undoubtedly one of the sweetest left pegs in modern-day football – but ultimately, was it a bullet dodged?
There was always speculation that the nimble forward wouldn’t cut the mustard in the physical Thunderdome of the Premier League, but as many players have before, he could have equally thrived.
Dybala has been on a slow decline since his best season at Juve, but he will go down as a phenomenal player in his footballing timeline. Just check out his career stats.
| Games | Goals | Assists | Yellow / Red Cards | Minutes Played |
| 482 | 179 | 82 | 39 / 1 | 32.628′ |
To say he’d have been a world-beater in red would be difficult to prove, but the stats don’t lie – he’s a tremendous talent. Another that sadly fell through the clutches, but also equally could have been a dodged bullet.