David Moyes had an ambitious transfer wish list at Manchester United(Image: John Peters). David Moyes has admitted years after his failed spell as Manchester United manager that he wanted to sign the likes of Gareth Bale, Cesc Fabregas, Toni Kroos and Leighton Baines.. Having impressed during his long Everton tenure, the Scot was specifically picked by Sir Alex Ferguson to take over the reins in 2013 following his compatriot’s retirement. A banner reading ‘The Chosen One’ even adorned Old Trafford to mark his appointment. Yet the initial optimism would be short-lived.. It only went downhill for Moyes after his Community Shield win and he found himself out of a job by April 2014, with United languishing in seventh place in the Premier League. The Red Devils chapter of his career lasted just 10 months.. Since leaving the club, Moyes has gone on to taste silverware with West Ham, lifting the Europa Conference League trophy, and now finds himself at the helm of a reinvigorated Everton.. However, when he first arrived in Manchester, Moyes had his sights set on some huge targets – along similar lines to world-beater Cristiano Ronaldo – that could have calmed the impending choppy United seas.. “When I first went in, my real target was Gareth Bale. I felt all along that Gareth Bale was a Manchester United player,” Moyes told ESPN. “I fought right until the last minute.”. Bale joined Los Blancos in 2013(Image: AFP via Getty Images). By the summer of 2013, Bale’s incredible form at Spurs had seen him achieve world-class status and it appeared that he was keen for a new challenge. However, that challenge would not be in Manchester.. Moyes explained: “We actually offered a bigger deal than Real Madrid. But Gareth had his mind made up on going to Real Madrid. That was, in my mind, the player I really wanted to bring to Manchester United. The other one was Cesc Fabregas, who we thought we would get right up until the last minute.”. Neither Bale nor then-Barcelona star Fabregas would be signed – Marouane Fellaini was the only major recruit that window from Everton and Juan Mata later arrived in January from rivals Chelsea – despite Moyes admitting the bar for transfers was set exceptionally high.. He said: “I remember when I first met Sir Alex (Ferguson) and he always said there was a chance Ronaldo might come back. So that was the level we were targeting. I was not going out to bring in seven, eight players, because we had a squad which had just won the league.. “Toni Kroos was agreed to come in the summer (2014). I had agreed it with Toni himself and his agent. Sometimes you don’t get deals done. Gareth Bale, we were probably behind all along. Real Madrid were well in for it. The Cesc one was disappointing. It was very close. And Toni Kroos came up in January – it was done.. “A lot of players come into Manchester United and have not necessarily made the difference. But I think that given time and having got to this period, I would have hoped I would be working with a successful team now.”. Fellaini was signed but Baines stayed at Everton(Image: Mike Hewitt). Moyes also expressed to late Everton chairman Bill Kenwright after he took the reins that he wanted to sign left-back Baines, saying: “Once I got the United job, I discussed it [signing Baines] with Bill near enough immediately. I said that there would be some players I would be interested in.”. Over a decade since Moyes’ sacking, the Red Devils appear to be in a worse position than ever before in the Premier League era, even in spite of Ronaldo eventually returning to Old Trafford for a second spell. They currently sit in the bottom half of the table under new head coach Ruben Amorim, who is the seventh permanent appointment since Ferguson, whose success none have come even close to replicating.. Amorim will be keen to deliver a performance that will uplift the spirits of United’s supporters this Saturday in a tough test against Moyes’ in-form Toffees in their final ever visit to Goodison Park (12.30pm).. Article continues below. Our team of Manchester United experts are on top of all the goings-on at Old Trafford for this week and beyond, and you can get the latest team news, injury updates, reaction and analysis along with inside information to your phone by joining our new free WhatsApp community. You can also join the 50,000 (and growing!) band of United fans who are following our WhatsApp Channel.. –. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
