Sir Alex Ferguson Reveals Manchester United Had Chance to Sign Tottenham Forward in 2012

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed the Red Devils were close to signing Tottenham forward Lucas Moura back in 2012, only to be beaten to the punch by Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.

Lucas enjoyed success at PSG, winning numerous titles in France, before swapping Paris for London in the January transfer window earlier this year.

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The Brazil international was brilliant in Tottenham's 3-0 win at Old Trafford on Monday earlier this week, netting twice after Harry Kane's header as Spurs continued their winning start to the Premier League 

"Right towards the end of my time at United we were pursuing Lucas Moura, the immensely talented right winger who, at the time, was playing in his native Brazil for Sao Paulo," wrote Ferguson in his book, 'Leading', as reported by the Mirror.

"We offered £24m for him, which was upped to £30m and again to £35m, but Paris Saint-Germain signed him for £45m.

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"David Gill and I were just not prepared to go to those sorts of levels."

Lucas also scored in Mauricio Pochettino's side's 3-1 victory against Fulham, while United have struggled in their opening three Premier League matches.

A nervy 2-1 victory on the opening day against Leicester was followed up with a dispiriting 3-2 loss at Brighton, and Jose Mourinho is now under serious pressure to deliver a result at Burnley on Sunday after the Tottenham loss.

The former Chelsea boss still has the backing of the board at United, despite rumours of unrest between him and vice president Ed Woodward.