Former Man Utd Scout Admits He Wanted to Sign Emre Can Prior to His Juventus Move

Former Manchester United scout Javier Ribalta has revealed he would have liked to have sealed a free transfer for Emre Can from Liverpool while at Old Trafford.

Ribalta spent a year at United after five years as part of the scouting team at Juventus and was involved in a major overhaul of the scouting at Old Trafford during his time there too. Since he left he has become chief scout at Zenit Saint Petersburg.

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He also told Tuttosport, as translated by Football Italia, he would have liked to have signed Leon Goretzka on a free transfer too.

He said: "As for my time in Manchester, I was only there for a year but I’d have liked to sign Emre Can and [Leon] Goretzka on free transfers."

It is uncertain how realistic a signing Can would have been for United, but the Germany international midfielder did run down his contract at Anfield before joining Juventus on a Bosman free transfer this summer.

He was also linked with United earlier this year in the Italian media, translated by Manchester Evening News.

Given the rivalry that exists between United and Liverpool it would have potentially proven to be a controversial Premier League move.

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Meanwhile, Goretzka joined Bayern Munich after letting his own contract expire at Schalke.

The 23-year-old German international made 116 league appearances for Schalke after joining them in 2013, before leaving this summer. He has widely been touted as a future star.

Goretzka made his international debut in May 2014 and has picked up 16 senior international caps to date, scoring six goals.