Anwar El Ghazi claims a move to Manchester United was “close” in September | OneFootball

Former Aston Villa winger, Anwar El Ghazi, has claimed that he was close to moving to Old Trafford last September.

The 29 year old has been a free agent since leaving FSV Mainz 05 in November after making only three appearances for the Bundesliga side.

The Dutch attacker played four years in the Premier League with Aston Villa and Everton and even made a couple of appearances for the Netherlands national team.

However, when news of Jadon Sancho’s exclusion from the squad broke last September, there was much speculation on what United would do to cover the hole left in the squad.

What’s more, Antony was also absent from the squad due to ongoing legal issues and Mason Greenwood had been hurriedly moved on to Spain to leave United with threadbare options out wide.

Ultimately, they would do nothing but there were scarcely unbelievable links to El Ghazi, who was a free agent at the time.

Reports soon came out to rebuff the notion that United were interested in the winger but according to the player himself, the deal was much closer than people seem to appreciate.

In an interview with the BBC’s Shamoon Hafez, El Ghazi stated, “it was true we were in talks but there was nothing concrete.”

“I was a free agent after leaving PSV and they were struggling to find wingers. They were exploring the market. It was close but unfortunately it didn’t go through.”

Whilst the deal does seem nonsensical, United have developed a bit of a reputation for pulling off strange loan deals lately.

The moves for Odion Ighalo in January 2020 and for Wout Weghorst in 2023 demonstrate that the club has the potential for the unexpected.

Thankfully El Ghazi was not signed, as it gave Alejandro Garnacho the chance to break out as a star on the wing, and Amad Diallo was eventually given the opportunity to show his talents at the backend of the season.