Manchester United transfer news: David Moyes confirms initial interest in Cesc Fabregas

David Moyes has revealed that Manchester United were on the verge of signing Cesc Fabregas in 2013 but the transfer did not happen as the midfielder wanted to stay one more year at Nuo Camp under new manager Tata Martino. The former Arsenal player finally made the move next year to Chelsea, where he propelled them to their third Premier League title under Jose Mourinho.

Fabregas was the standout player in the 2014/15 season, picking up 18 assists in the league, a feat which is close to being overshadowed by Mesut Ozil for Arsenal, having already managed 17 assists with 12 games still left in the season. Moyes, having struggled to land his top targets for the summer, was sacked only nine months into the campaign after he failed to lead the Red Devils into the Champions League.

United finished the campaign in seventh spot and the Scotsman was replaced by Louis van Gaal, who led United to a fourth placed finish in the following season. The Dutchman has struggled to replicate his initial success in his debut season and is currently struggling in fifth spot, six points adrift of fourth place Manchester City and 12 behind leaders Leicester City.

"We thought we were taking him to Manchester United," Moyes told Goals on Sunday, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News. "We spoke to him at the time, but unfortunately it didn't happen. Manchester United are always in for the top players, we were in for the top players at the time. They were in for the top players recently and they will be in for them again."

The manager went on to take a dig at chief executive Ed Woodward, who was behind his sacking. The former Everton man believes that he would not have been shown the door if David Gill was in charge as he understood football, unlike the present representative.

"There was a new chief executive in place," Moyes added. "David Gill had left which was a real big thing for Manchester United. He was someone who was very important to the club and to how things ticked along at the club. In that position you need to understand football, like David Gill," he added.