Jose Mourinho reportedly tried to bring Xherdan Shaqiri to Manchester United before Liverpool pounced for the Swiss winger during the summer.
Shaqiri was the star of the show in Sunday's North-West derby as he struck twice as a second-half sub to earn the Reds a 3-1 win on Merseyside.
Liverpool snapped up the 27-year-old for a bargain fee of £12m following Stoke City's relegation to the Championship, but the Manchester Evening News reports that he could easily have ended up at Old Trafford.
United boss Mourinho is said to have talked up the player to his companions, viewing him as the ideal type of wideman to fill a void in his squad, but he decided against triggering his release clause.
The 78-cap Switzerland international has now scored five Premier League goals for Liverpool in 13 appearances, six of those outings coming from the bench.
