West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has revealed that Spanish striker Michu was on his radar before the player moved to Swansea City in the summer.
The 26-year-old has struck 13 goals in 20 Premier League games since joining the Swans from Rayo Vallecano for £2m.
"You take your choices, but certainly on the basis of what [Michu] cost, he would have been within our budget," said Allardyce.
"Whether we wanted to take the risk was another matter. More often than not you want somebody with a bit of a Premier League record."
Michu scored 15 goals in 27 games in La Liga last season.
