MANCHESTER UNITED turned down the opportunity to sign Brighton star Moises Caicedo last year.
Caicedo, 20, has stood out at the Amex Stadium this season and helped the Seagulls beat United 2-1 in their Premier League opener at Old Trafford last month.
According to The Athletic, the Red Devils held talks with the midfielder’s former club Independiente del Valle in February 2021 and walked out of a deal that would have cost them a mere £4.5million.
The Manchester giants turned their attention elsewhere due to complications over payments to various agents.
But Brighton swopped in and figured out a way to sort out those payments to get the Ecuador international.
The 20-year-old was then sent out on loan to Belgian outfit Beerschot in order to acclimatise to European football.
Read More on Man Utd
Graham Potter brought Caicedo back at the end of last season to replace Yves Bissouma, who joined Tottenham.
The Ecuadorian has been doing a good job filling in for Bissouma so far as he started in all six of Brighton’s Premier League matches this season.
He also scored his first goal during today’s thrilling Prem match against Leicester.
United had been in need of reinforcement in midfield after Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic’s departure as free agents.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
The Red Devils are hoping that the arrivals of Christian Eriksen and Casemiro will help them improve in the middle of the park.
Caicedo is considered a bright prospect as he has already registered 23 caps with the Ecuadorian national team despite his young age.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk