Manchester United tried to sign out of favour Arsenal right-back Mathieu Debuchy last January and were propped to offer him a five-year deal.
Former Red Devils manager Louis van Gaal was a big fan of the France international while he was in charge at Old Trafford, with reports in the January transfer window claiming they even failed with a loan bid for him midway through the campaign.
Debuchy eventually moved to French side Bordeaux instead for the second-half of the season, before returning to be third-choice right-back at Arsenal this term.
His career could have been very different at this point, L’Equipe say that United were keen to sign Debuchy with a bumper five-year contract offer.
The 31-year-old was talked about as one of the best right-backs in the world after impressing for previous club Newcastle United and for the France national side, but an injury in his debut season at the Gunners has put a downer on his career at the Emirates Stadium.
Hector Bellerin replaced him in middle of the 2014/15 campaign and he is now the first-choice right-back at the club according to Arsene Wenger, while Carl Jenkinson was picked ahead of Debuchy to step in for the injured Spaniard in their 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Saturday.
By Drew Darbyshire (@DarbySports)
