Jordan Henderson was attracting plenty of interest before eventually signing for Liverpool including Manchester United, and Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed why he didn't sign the midfielder from Sunderland.
After graduating from Sunderland's youth academy, Henderson broke into the first team before becoming a regular fixture in the side.
Naturally, a young, talented, budding English starlet caught the eye of many.
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United and Liverpool circled with then-manager Kenny Dalglish snapping him up for a reported fee of £16 million.
He was also on United's transfer radar, and Sir Alex has explained why he decided against signing him.
"We looked at Jordan Henderson a lot, and Steve Bruce was unfailingly enthusiastic about him," Ferguson wrote in his autobiography via Mirror. "But we noticed that Henderson runs from his knees, with a straight back.
"The modern footballer runs from his hips, and we thought this gait might cause him problems later in his career," the legendary gaffer added.
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Well, there you have it - he passed up the opportunity to sign the future Liverpool captain because of his running.
Henderson responded by taking it as a compliment.
"It was sort of a compliment, to be honest," he told the Mail on Sunday.
Henderson added: "If you read what was said, he and Steve Bruce were talking and Steve was speaking very highly of me at the time.
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"And Sir Alex decided against a move because of my running style. I think I must have been doing something right for him to be watching me so closely!
Did United make the right choice in not drafting in Henderson? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
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