December 10th 2024.
Roy Keane, the former captain of Manchester United, recently shared his thoughts on Paolo Di Canio, a Premier League legend who was once a transfer target for Sir Alex Ferguson. According to Keane, Di Canio would have been a great addition to the United team.
Ferguson had attempted to sign Di Canio in the middle of the 2001-02 season, but the Italian forward turned down the offer. Di Canio later revealed that he felt honored to be pursued by Manchester United, but he couldn't leave his "family" at West Ham after they had given him a second chance following a difficult period in his career.
West Ham had paid £1.5m to sign Di Canio from Sheffield Wednesday in 1999, just a few months after he received an 11-match ban and a £10,000 fine for pushing a referee. Di Canio spent four successful years at West Ham, scoring 47 goals in 118 Premier League games, before moving on to Charlton Athletic for another year.
Interestingly, just a few weeks after Ferguson's attempt to sign him, Di Canio scored a famous winning goal against Manchester United in the FA Cup. On The Overlap, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher mentioned this incident and Keane replied that Di Canio would have been a good fit for United. He also recalled the moment when Neville kept his hand up for a long time, thinking that Di Canio was offside, only to realize that he had played him onside.
Ian Wright also agreed with Keane, saying that Di Canio could have been like another United legend, Eric Cantona, due to his incredible skills. Gary Neville, a Manchester United hero himself, added that Ferguson was a fan of Di Canio and had tried to sign him.
In an interview with Sky Sports' Transfer Talk podcast, Di Canio opened up about his decision to turn down United. He admitted that he was initially shocked and felt a sense of pride that such a big club was interested in him. However, he ultimately chose to stay loyal to West Ham, the team that had supported him during the toughest time in his career.
Ferguson respected Di Canio's decision and told him that he was proud of him for thinking in such a way. Di Canio has no regrets about staying at West Ham, even though Manchester United went on to become the best team in the league, winning the Champions League and numerous titles. He believes that his time at West Ham was worth more than any trophies he could have won with United.
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