Man Utd Had List of Four Dream Midfield Signings but Only Managed One

Manchester United had a list of dream midfield targets disclosed in a secret transfer meeting but were only successful in securing the services of one.

Two of United's former midfield greats in Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt were involved to discuss transfer targets alongside legendary teammate Ryan Giggs in a meeting with Ed Woodward.

Woodward served as executive vice chairman following on from the departure of David Gill, who joined Sir Alex Ferguson in departing.

There was an outlay of more than £1 billion during his spell in the role, with Romelu Lukaku, Angel Di Maria, Harry Maguire, and Bruno Fernandes among the most high-profile signings.

He worked alongside the likes of David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer prior to departing in 2022 after announcing his resignation.

But according to Scholes and Butt, they too spoke with Woodward about midfield transfer targets at one point - with the executive calling for advice from the former players.

Pogba played 229 times for United. Image: Getty

Speaking on the Good, the Bad and the Football podcast, Butt revealed: "Myself, Scholesy, Ryan and Ed Woodward - and it was like, 'Who would you get?'. And he gave us a list of midfielders. I know [Paul] Pogba was one, [Toni] Kroos was one. [Cesc] Fabregas might have been one."

Scholes chimed in and added that Luka Modric, then at Real Madrid, "might have been one as well".

Butt added: "I remember we were discussing all pros and cons to them all. And the end of the conversation was 'Go for both of them' - Kroos and Pogba - because we're Man United and we need to get back to the top. And that's how it was left and they went all out for Pogba."

Pogba finally returned to the pitch after more than two years. Image: Getty

It's possible that the timeline is slightly muddled as United were after both Fabregas and Kroos in David Moyes' first transfer window. Thiago Alcantara was also heavily courted but United ended up signing Marouane Fellaini for £27 million on deadline day.

Pogba did not return to United until 2016 when Mourinho was at the helm, signing for a fee of £89.3 million. The World Cup winner went on to play 226 times, scoring 39 goals before again leaving for Juventus for free.

After being hit with a lengthy ban for testing positive for testosterone, Pogba returned the game by signing for Monaco and penned a two-year deal.

He finally made his debut on Saturday, taking to the pitch for the first time in 811 days when he came on as an 85th minute substitute in a 4-1 defeat to Rennes in Ligue One.