The Premier League's Greatest Almost Transfers: What Could Have Been
The Premier League has never been short on star power. Yet its history is haunted by ghosts – the deals that came close, the contracts that never quite reached the pen, the flights that never took off. Careers, clubs, even titles might look very different if these 15 transfers had gone through.
Some fell apart over money. Some over work permits. One, astonishingly, because of a volcano.
Blackburn’s Sliding Doors: Keane, Zidane… and Lewandowski
Blackburn Rovers sit at the heart of this parallel universe.
In 1993, Roy Keane had shaken hands with Kenny Dalglish. The Nottingham Forest midfielder had agreed to join Blackburn. The contract was, in his words, “basically agreed.” He went back to Ireland, job done. Then Manchester United called.
Keane admitted years later that his only “mistake” was telling Blackburn he would sign before hearing from United. The rest is Old Trafford folklore: seven Premier League titles, four as captain, and a legacy that defines an era. Blackburn were that close to having him as their midfield heartbeat instead.
Two years on, Dalglish aimed even higher. Fresh from winning the 1994/95 title, he identified a young playmaker at Bordeaux: Zinedine Zidane. Zidane and his team-mate Christophe Dugarry even visited Blackburn’s training ground. Tim Sherwood remembers seeing them talking to owner Jack Walker about a move.
Then came the line that has echoed through football history. Walker is said to have asked: “Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?” The deal died. Within three years, Zidane had a World Cup and a Ballon d’Or. Blackburn had a story they still can’t quite live down.
The club’s knack for near-misses didn’t end in the 90s. In 2010, they moved for a prolific young striker at Lech Poznan: Robert Lewandowski. Talks went well with player and club. A proposal was in place. He was due to fly to England, see the stadium, seal the move.
Then Eyjafjallajokull erupted.
The Icelandic volcano grounded flights across Europe. Lewandowski never made it to Blackburn. He later admitted that seeing the club in person might have made them his first choice. Instead, he joined Borussia Dortmund, then Bayern Munich, then Barcelona, and became one of the greatest goalscorers of his generation – without ever kicking a ball in the Premier League.
The United That Might Have Been
Manchester United’s trophy cabinet is full, but the list of players they nearly signed is just as staggering.
Start with Alan Shearer in 1996. The Premier League’s all-time top scorer sat down with Sir Alex Ferguson and Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan on the same day. By his own admission, Shearer was “90 per cent” certain he would join United. Then Keegan called again. The pull of his boyhood club won. Shearer went to Newcastle, scored 148 league goals for them and became a local deity. United still won, but imagine Ferguson with the greatest Premier League marksman of them all.
In 2003, United were on the brink of bringing Ronaldinho to Old Trafford. Ferguson said they were “very close” as the Brazilian prepared to leave Paris Saint-Germain. For a brief moment, it looked inevitable. Then Barcelona, helped by Sandro Rosell’s promise, stole in. Ronaldinho chose Camp Nou, won the Ballon d’Or in 2005 and the Champions League a year later. United, denied the Brazilian, turned to a teenager from Sporting instead: Cristiano Ronaldo.
United’s more recent near-misses feel even more painful.
In December 2019, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer flew to Austria to push for Erling Haaland, having already recommended him to the club 18 months earlier when he was still at Molde. United hesitated then, moved later, and by that time “everyone was there.” Haaland joined Borussia Dortmund, then Manchester City, where he has already collected two Premier League titles and three Golden Boots.
Jude Bellingham was next. In 2020, United rolled out the red carpet at Carrington: Solskjaer, Sir Alex Ferguson, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona – a parade of history to convince a 17-year-old from Birmingham City. Solskjaer says they “sold it as well as he could.” Robson left the meeting believing Bellingham was coming. He didn’t. The midfielder chose Dortmund, then Real Madrid, and now looks set to shape European football from Spain, not Manchester.
Even in 2008, when United were champions of Europe, they watched Aaron Ramsey slip away. They announced an agreed fee with Cardiff and hailed him as one of Wales’ brightest prospects. Ten days later, he was an Arsenal player. Arsene Wenger had flown to meet him during the Euros, laid out his vision over lunch, and won the race.
United have always been a magnet for talent. The thought of the ones that got away, though, lingers.
Wenger’s Regrets: Ronaldo, Zlatan, Yaya, Mbappé
If United’s “almosts” are painful, Wenger’s are almost operatic.
Cristiano Ronaldo tops his list. In 2003, a 17-year-old Ronaldo and his mother sat at Arsenal’s training ground, toured the facilities, and left with a shirt bearing his name. Wenger has said they were “very close,” but the deal came down to the transfer fee. Arsenal hesitated. Manchester United did not. Ronaldo went to Old Trafford, won three Premier League titles there and five Ballons d’Or in total.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic came even closer to North London in 2000. At 17, the Malmo striker travelled to Arsenal, posed in a No 9 shirt with his name on the back and looked set to sign. Then came the sticking point: Wenger wanted a trial first. Ibrahimovic’s response has since become part of his myth. “Zlatan doesn’t do auditions.” He walked away. It would be 16 more years before he finally arrived in the Premier League, with Manchester United, not Arsenal.
Yaya Toure actually played for Arsenal – sort of. In 2003, the 20-year-old from Beveren featured in a pre-season friendly against Barnet while on trial. Wenger wanted to sign him, but the work permit dragged on. Toure grew impatient and joined Metalurh Donetsk, where he could go “without any passport” issues. Years later, he returned to England not in red but in sky blue, becoming a driving force in Manchester City’s three Premier League title wins between 2010 and 2018.
Then there is Kylian Mbappé. In 2016, before he had even signed his first professional contract with Monaco, Wenger took a plane to the south of France, sat in Mbappé’s home with his parents and tried to persuade him to join Arsenal. A year later, Jurgen Klopp did something similar for Liverpool, holding talks with the player and his family on a private jet, circling in the air while they spoke and ate.
Both clubs threw everything at it. Mbappé chose Paris Saint-Germain, where he won the World Cup with France and became a superstar before finally heading to Real Madrid. The Premier League never got him, only a glimpse of what might have been.
London Calling: Gerrard, Shevchenko and the One That Stayed
Not all of these stories end with the player elsewhere. One of the most dramatic almost-transfers ended with a legend staying put.
In 2005, Steven Gerrard had just dragged Liverpool to Champions League glory in Istanbul. Jose Mourinho, building his Chelsea dynasty, wanted him badly. He dreamed of a midfield with Claude Makelele, Gerrard and Frank Lampard. Gerrard even submitted a transfer request. He later admitted he was thinking, “I’d love to play for Jose Mourinho.” His head was turned.
Then came the talks with his family. The pull of Liverpool, of the club he grew up in, proved too strong. Gerrard signed a new four-year deal and stayed another decade. Chelsea moved on. Liverpool kept their captain, and the Premier League kept one of its defining one-club stories intact by the narrowest of margins.
A different London club, West Ham, had their own brush with history in 1999. Harry Redknapp brought a 17-year-old Andriy Shevchenko in for a trial and organised a match against Barnet reserves. Shevchenko scored twice. West Ham liked him – just not at £1 million. Redknapp and Frank Lampard Snr. decided it was too much for a teenager. Shevchenko went on to become a Ballon d’Or winner and a Champions League icon, only arriving in the Premier League with Chelsea seven years later.
Bolton Wanderers, of all clubs, nearly pulled off one of the most outrageous deals of the lot. In 2004, with Sam Allardyce punching above his weight, chairman Phil Gartside stood at Goodison Park after a win at Everton and revealed he had a fax in his pocket. Rivaldo, World Cup winner and former Ballon d’Or recipient, wanted to come. A financial package had been accepted. Rivaldo himself spoke of the “challenge” of taking Bolton into Europe for the first time in their history. The move collapsed. He signed for Olympiacos instead. The Premier League never saw him.
The Power of a Phone Call, a Flight… or an Ash Cloud
Strip these stories down and they hinge on tiny moments.
A phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson to Roy Keane in Ireland.
A quote from Jack Walker about Tim Sherwood and Zidane.
A volcano grounding flights and blocking Robert Lewandowski’s path to Blackburn.
A work permit delay pushing Yaya Toure to Ukraine.
A trial request that Zlatan Ibrahimovic refused on principle.
A transfer fee Arsenal wouldn’t stretch to for Cristiano Ronaldo.
A second call from Kevin Keegan that pulled Alan Shearer back to Newcastle.
A family conversation that persuaded Steven Gerrard to stay at Liverpool.
A teenager’s decision between Dortmund and Manchester, between Dortmund and Madrid.
Every era of the Premier League is shaped by the players who came. Just as powerfully, it’s shaped by the ones who almost did.
Look at today’s table, the clubs in ascendancy, the ones searching for a way back. Then ask: which phone call, which flight, which meeting in a quiet boardroom will we be talking about in 20 years’ time as the transfer that never was – but should have been?
