'Terrible' - David Moyes names two world-class players who Manchester United almost signed

David Moyes has spoken of how close Manchester United were to signing Gareth Bale and Cesc Fabregas following his appointment as Sir Alex Ferguson's replacement.

Moyes' first and only summer transfer window as United manager was a disaster in 2013 and Marouane Fellaini and Guillermo Varela were the only players who were signed. Bale, Fabregas, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thiago Alcantara and Luka Modric were all linked to United that summer but the club was left scrambling on deadline day to sign Fellaini.

Fabregas held a press conference to announce he was staying at Barcelona and fans suspected the players' camp had led United on a merry dance to sign an improved contract, while Bale signed for Real Madrid for a then world-record transfer fee of €100.8 million (£85.1 m). Moyes was sacked just 10 months into his tenure and he's provided insight into what that summer window was like in a conversation with the Stick to Football podcast.

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“My plans were to not do anything different to what Sir Alex Ferguson did but I couldn’t be Alex, I couldn’t manage like him. I wasn’t going to come in and change the philosophy," said Moyes.

"I was just going to continue everything I thought he’d been doing right. At the time, I remember when I’d met Sir Alex, he asked whether I’d be interested in Cesc Fàbregas, and I said, ‘Definitely.’

"That was probably the main signing we were trying to get in summer, and I’d spoken to Cesc, and he had said that if he started the first game for Barcelona, he wouldn’t come but if he didn’t then he would come. So, I was going to have to wait right to that time to find out.

“Gareth Bale was the other one. My interpretation with United was that they had great wingers, great wide players with traditions from George Best and you name them all through the years.

"So, I thought Gareth Bale would be the one and to be fair to the club, they’d offered more money and had tried to get him, but he had his heart set on Real Madrid.

"We’d took it right to the wire to get him. I didn’t have a backup to what I wanted after those two players, but I’d brought in Marouane Fellaini – he was the only one that came in.

"My thought with Marouane was because I’m thinking they’ll be going away to Stoke City and games like that - and to be fair to him, he had a good career at United. We also tried to bring in Leighton Baines, as a backup for Patrice [Evra] at the time, which we didn’t get. When I didn’t get the first two signings, it made my start terrible because the window wasn’t great.”

Fellaini scored 22 goals in 177 appearances for United and eventually became a fan favourite. Moyes was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.