Ivan Perisic completed a move to Bayern Munich this summer, but things could have panned out very differently for the Croatian.
Had Manchester City winger Leroy Sane not been injured in the Community Shield, Perisic could still be with Inter Milan, with Bayern turning their attentions to him once a deal for the German was dead in the water.
He has scored two goals and provided two assists in three starts for his new club but the 30-year-old could easily be plying his trade in the Premier League.
Two years ago, he was Jose Mourinho’s top summer target and came ‘very close’ to moving to Old Trafford.
And he described the breakdown of that £50million deal as ‘painful’.
‘How close was I going there? Very close,’ he told the Athletic. ‘It was an amazing thing for me when Jose [Mourinho] called me. It was difficult to say no to him.
‘In fact, I really, really wanted to join him and play for United. It was a dream of mine to play in all the big leagues. But it didn’t happen.
‘It was painful for me. But I don’t want to go into the details. I only found out myself the real reasons two years later.’
Perisic has also spent time working under another familiar Premier League face.
During his days at Borussia Dortmund, Jurgen Klopp – now the Liverpool manager – was in charge and Perisic revealed the German tactician ‘taught’ him how to play the modern game.
‘I wasn’t ready for it,’ he added. ‘I was not used to defending from the front. I didn’t even know that it was a two-way game.
‘Jurgen taught me modern football. I have to say “thank you” to him for that. We won the double in the first year but when I saw that my situation didn’t change in the second season, I wanted to leave.
‘I told him I wanted to be regular starter, and he said: “I respect your decision, we will find a solution.”‘
