Manchester United reportedly turned down the opportunity to sign Leicester City star James Maddison in 2016 while the England international was playing for Coventry.
Maddison has become one of the most sought-after young midfielders in the Premier League after a series of superb displays for Leicester , and has been linked with a move to Old Trafford in recent weeks.
Back in 2016 while Coventry were struggling with financial issues they were forced to sell Maddison to Norwich, and according to transfer expert Ian McGarry United were contacted first to see if they would be interested in the player but did not respond.
Speaking on Reach Plc's Transfer Window podcast McGarry said: "For two minutes I’m going to go all Arsene Wenger here because when Maddison was in the process of leaving Coventry City because the club’s financial crisis meant they had to sell their best players and Maddison even then was considered one of the best players.
"I contacted someone I knew at Manchester United in their recruitment department and said look you’re going to get a bargain here, this guy’s going to be a huge player in the future and he’s available for around £5m and he’s also a Manchester United fan.
"They didn’t take any notice. Manchester United could have had Maddison four years ago. In saying that there’s no guarantee he would have developed the way he did at Norwich and then Leicester."
DaMhztourage
422
Any guarantee that he would have attained the level he is now , had he joined Utd then , it's not always straight calculation
madcow
412
The last line is true if you read the article. Under Moyes, Louis Van Gaal and Mourinho especially, he wouldn't develop much. Going to Norwich, he developed easily as they don't get too much attention so they won't get distracted. The pressure of being a Man U player is way too high nowadays. Even if a player plays 10 games well in a row, the moment he makes a mistake, Man U fans will start criticising them. So, actually it's best for Maddison to not come to Man U at 18. Plus, he'll be 20 when he is under Mourinho, which means Jose won't trust him to start.