Manchester United: Elite defender nearly signed; Mourinho's Schweinsteiger regret; former hero in FA Cup return

By Sam Leveridge

Manchester United nearly pulled of one of the signings of the summer, as it has emerged that Mats Hummels nearly signed for United over Bayern Munich when he left Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer this summer. Hummels told the Daily Mail:

“It was close. Very close. There were talks, several times in the last few years. They were the offers. I had England or one of the three big Spanish clubs. Nothing got close like the one from England. Van Gaal wanted me but he wasn’t the only one. It is getting difficult for me now to play in England. I’m 28 next month and I’ve signed here for five years.”

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The 28-year-old is now excelling at Bayern whilst Jose Mourinho continues to look for defensive additions, many of which are of a much lower quality.

Mourinho has also reportedly performed a U-turn on Bastian Schweinsteiger and is now prepared to involve him in the first team again. The reports in the Express follow on from his quotes last week when he said:

“When you have a contract with a club, you are the powerful one. You are the one who can decide your future. In the summer, we tried to make something happen for Bastian to get a different future. He was the powerful one. He decided to stay even in difficult circumstances. He worked for that and he deserved that little happiness he got from the last match. In January he will be the powerful one, and probably with better feelings than before now he is working with the team. He understands our dynamic and philosophy. You can see the happiness he showed the other day. He is so happy and so proud with his efforts and determination.”

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The German featured against West Ham and has been on the fringes of the first team since returning to training with his teammates, having previously been sent to train with the reserves.

The club will also welcome back club legend Jaap Stam as Reading visit Old Trafford in the FA Cup third round, having taken his team up to third in the Championship as the season reaches the halfway stage.

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Stam spent three years at Old Trafford between 1998 and 2001 before moving on to Lazio after a falling out over his book with Sir Alex Ferguson.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Adel Hardan.