Manchester United manager David Moyes has admitted that he passed on the opportunity to sign Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid this summer.
The German playmaker signed for Arsenal towards the end of the summer transfer window for £42.4m – and has since hit the ground running at the Emirates Stadium.
Rumours at the time suggested that Manchester United were keen on signing the 25-year-old, but Moyes has now revealed that he did not think there was enough room in his squad for the gifted attacking midfielder.
"As regards Ozil, we weren’t close to buying him but something was mooted [to us]" the Scot told reporters. "We didn’t need that position at the time. It was put to us and it was just something at the time we didn’t need.
"We had Shinji Kagawa and Wayne [Rooney] and people of a similar ilk so it wasn’t quite what we required at that time. We were looking at different positions."
Moyes eventually agreed a deal with his former employers Everton to bring Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini, who plays in a deeper position to Ozil, to Old Trafford.
However, the central midfielder has struggled to produce his best form since joining the Premier League champions for £27.5m.
Fellaini and Ozil will go head-to-head on Sunday afternoon, when champions United host current league leaders Arsenal.
The German playmaker signed for Arsenal towards the end of the summer transfer window for £42.4m – and has since hit the ground running at the Emirates Stadium.
Rumours at the time suggested that Manchester United were keen on signing the 25-year-old, but Moyes has now revealed that he did not think there was enough room in his squad for the gifted attacking midfielder.
"As regards Ozil, we weren’t close to buying him but something was mooted [to us]" the Scot told reporters. "We didn’t need that position at the time. It was put to us and it was just something at the time we didn’t need.
"We had Shinji Kagawa and Wayne [Rooney] and people of a similar ilk so it wasn’t quite what we required at that time. We were looking at different positions."
Moyes eventually agreed a deal with his former employers Everton to bring Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini, who plays in a deeper position to Ozil, to Old Trafford.
However, the central midfielder has struggled to produce his best form since joining the Premier League champions for £27.5m.
Fellaini and Ozil will go head-to-head on Sunday afternoon, when champions United host current league leaders Arsenal.
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