Sir Alex Ferguson’s Five-Man Transfer Shortlist Was Leaked

Manchester United brought in five new players in the summer transfer window, spending just over £200 million.

The 13-time Premier League winners strengthened their forward line with the arrivals of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbuemo and Benjamin Sesko, while also bringing in young left-back Diego Leon and signing off their business with the much-needed addition of Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens on deadline day.

United were not successful with signing all of their transfer targets, having unsuccessfully pursued the likes of Liam Delap and Carlos Baleba.

That is often the case in the transfer market though, as a leaked list of United's transfer plans from more than 20 years ago shows.

Prior to the 2004/05 season, United were looking to strengthen their squad after finishing third in the Premier League.

And there were five players on Ferguson's transfer wishlist, which was revealed on a 'player analysis' document that also broke down the squad he had at his disposal.

One column was titled 'excess' and had both Nicky Butt and Diego Forlan circled, while another was a youth potential section which included Kieran Richardson, Tom Heaton, Phil Bardsley and more.

But there was also focus on who United identified as players who could improve them. Defence was clearly a priority and both Gabriel Heinze and Gerard Pique were snapped up from Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona respectively.

Interestingly, Ferguson also liked the look of future Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, who was waving waves at Anderlecht - as well as Philippe Mexes - who left Auxerre to sign for AS Roma in the summer of 2004.

Image: Twitter/@utdreport

What happened to Ferguson's United signings?

United did get their third desired target though, paying £7 million to sign Alan Smith from Leeds United in a highly controversial switch after their relegation from the Premier League.

At the bottom of the document, there was a section titled, "notes of discussion" with Ferguson, who raised points about players.

Heinze went straight into the first-team and played 39 times in all competitions, while Pique was very much seen as one for the future and played just 23 times at United before returning to Barcelona and being a world-class defender.

Smith, meanwhile, made a strong start and scored 10 goals in his first campaign but his time at United was riddled with injuries and he played 93 times across three seasons before signing for Newcastle.

United failed to win the league in the next two seasons but their hands on the trophy in the 2006/07 season.