David Moyes wanted to sign Blaise Matuidi for Manchester United, according to Phil Neville.
The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder was a target for former United manager Moyes, who had planned an ambitious overhaul of his squad before his sacking in April 2014.
The Scot scouted a number of central midfielders, and Neville -- who was a first-team coach at Old Trafford during his nine-month reign -- said Moyes hoped to bring in Matuidi.
Neville told BBC Sport: "We wanted to sign him. We were really interested."
Matuidi has helped PSG win the Ligue 1 title in the last two seasons and was in the France side which reached the last eight of the 2014 World Cup.
Other central midfielders Moyes was reported to have attempted to sign or scouted included Cesc Fabregas, Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira, Miralem Pjanic, Fernando, Arturo Vidal and Ander Herrera, who was signed by United after the Scot's sacking.
Meanwhile, United's under-21 side drew 0-0 against Everton on Tuesday night to return to the top of the Under-21 Premier League table.
James Wilson, Tyler Blackett and Rafael da Silva all started the game, although the Brazilian was substituted in the second half.