The fact that Sheffield United came close to bringing a teenage Diego Maradona to England is now the stuff of footballing folklore - but he is far from the only big name to be on the verge of a move to Bramall Lane. As with every club up and down the land, the Blades have had their share of near-misses in the transfer market.
From unknowns who went on to win the Champions League to potential bargains that saw the Blades blown out of the water, we had a look at the stories behind 17 players who were either close to joining United, or wanted to do so but never did ... how many of these did you know about?
1. Didier Drogba
The Blades were given the chance to sign the future Champions League winner when he was still a relative unknown quality – for just £100,000. Neil Warnock was recommended Drogba by Laurent D’Jaffo, a former player of Warnock’s who moved into scouting after hanging up his boots, when the striker was playing in the French second tier. But Warnock thought it was too much and Drogba later joined Guingamp and Marseille before securing his big money move to Chelsea for £24million. During nine seasons at Stamford Bridge, Drogba scored 164 goals and won 12 major honours - including the Champions League. | Getty Images
2. Franck Ribery
A bizarre rumour that gathered pace after United were promoted to the Premier League in 2018/19, with the 36-year-old preparing to leave Bayern Munich after a 12-season spell in Bavaria. German outlet Kicker first linked Ribery with Bramall Lane but he instead moved to Fiorentina Photo: CHRISTOF STACHE
3. Gareth Southgate
He’s now a Sir but it could have all been very different for the former England boss had he been successful in his application for the Blades job back in 2013. At the time United were languishing in League One and looking for a replacement for Danny Wilson, with Southgate being interviewed for the job. But the Blades went for David Weir instead and while he didn’t last long, Southgate went on to bigger and better things with the England national side Photo: Dan Mullan
4. Kevin Muscat
“Serves you right for Muscat, that.” The Australian’s name is written in United folklore thanks to that bad tempered game at Millwall which saw him headbutt Paddy Kenny at half-time but the defender could have been a United player in the mid-90s when he was brought over from Down Under for a trial under Dave Bassett. But with uncertainty over the ownership of the club, there was no-one to actually make a decision on his future and he returned to his homeland, eventually returning to England with Bassett’s Crystal Palace before spells at Wolves, Rangers and eventually Millwall Photo: BRUNO FAHY/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images