Manchester United were reportedly keen to secure the signing of midfielder Weston McKennie in 2021.
On Sunday afternoon, the United States international lined up against United for Leeds United, playing 86 minutes of a 2-0 defeat for the Yorkshire giants.
McKennie has only just made the switch to Elland Road after a spell with Juventus, who he had represented since August 2020.
With McKennie having emerged as a regular in the team, Juventus exercised their option to turn a loan switch from Schalke 04 into a permanent deal before the end of the campaign.
Before his exit from the Italian giants in January, the 24-year-old had accumulated 96 appearances for Juventus, chipping in with 13 goals and five assists.
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However, as reported by Gazzetta dello Sport, it could have been a different story for McKennie had United been successful with an approach in 2021.
A financial investigation into the club is said to have revealed that United were interested in negotiating a swap deal involving Donny van de Beek.
In sharp contrast to McKennie's initial impact at Juventus, Van de Beek endured a torrid time at Old Trafford, never failing to establishing himself after a £40m transfer.
The Netherlands international was provided with just 511 minutes of Premier League football during 2020-21, and it is said to have left United being willing to part ways with the big-money arrival.
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Nevertheless, the same report says that Juventus were only prepared to consider a straight-cash proposal for McKennie, far in excess of what they had recently paid Schalke.
Juventus allegedly wanted to receive €50m to cash in on McKennie, double the €25m that they had shelled out for his services.
When Juventus allowed McKennie to move to Leeds on loan for the remainder of the season last month, it is claimed that they have inserted an option for the English side to take up a £30m (€33.8m) option should they so wish in the summer.
As a result of the investigation into their finances, Juventus have been docked 15 points in Serie A, and now sit 12 points adrift of Champions League qualification.
Darren Plant
