Manchester United nearly lost Marcel Sabitzer to a Premier League rival on transfer deadline day.
Erik ten Hag took action on deadline day following the injury of Christian Eriksen, who will be sidelined until 'late April or early May'.
Man United contacted several clubs around Europe in a bid to secure a replacement for the injured Dane.
Ryan Gravenberch and Youri Tielemans were considered before the Red Devils agreed a deal with Bayern Munich for the Austrian midfielder.
Advert
And it appears Man United had to fend off fierce competition to land the 28-year-old, who was attracting interest from another English side.
That's according to transfer expert Christian Falk, who claims Newcastle United had made a late attempt to sign Sabitzer before he ended up joining the Old Trafford outfit.
The Magpies made their own inroads on deadline day, snapping up Harrison Ashby from West Ham United.
They also captured the services of Anthony Gordon from Everton for £45 million earlier in the window.
But Eddie Howe failed to lure Sabitzer to St James' Park as Ten Hag will call upon the player's services for the rest of the season.
However, Man United's signing of Sabitzer has not gone down well with Paul Merson, who slammed the deal as a 'panic buy'.
On Sky Sports, he said: "He doesn't get in the Bayern Munich team, as the manager just said. He's way off that.
"Their two in midfield is cemented but if he was that good, he'd be pushing. So again it goes back to panic. There was no interest in him on January 1st. Now, it's a panic buy.
"Eriksen has just got injured. It's a panic. You're buying fourth choice Bayern Munich players. For me, I'm not sure about that."
The former Arsenal man added: "He doesn't get into the Bayern Munich team. If I'm a Manchester United fan or a Chelsea fan, I'd be looking and going, he doesn't get anywhere near Bayern's first team. So if he's not playing in their first team, why would we want him in our club?
"Is he going to make us better? Is there players there already who should be better than him? In my opinion, yes."
Topics: Football, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Marcel Sabitzer
Nasir Jabbar