10 Failed Transfers That Would Have Changed English Football

9. Paul Gascoigne To Manchester United

Paul Gascoigne was one of the most naturally gifted footballers England has ever produced but ended his career with just one FA Cup, two Scottish titles, a Scottish Cup and a Scottish League Cup to his name. One can only imagine what the list of honours might look like had he chosen Manchester United ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in 1988. At the end of the 1987/88 season, Gascoigne won the PFA Young Player of the Year gong for his stellar performances for his struggling hometown club Newcastle United. This prompted big money bids for the youngster from Man United and Spurs. According to his autobiography, the man they called Gazza promised Ferguson that he would sign for United. Confident the deal was done, the United manager jetted off to Malta on holiday, only to receive the news that the midfielder had instead signed for Terry Venables' Spurs for a British record fee of £2.2m. Ferguson alleged in his first autobiography that Spurs had convinced the midfielder to change his mind by offering to buy his family a house. Gascoigne himself has since confirmed this, and also added that they sweetened the deal further by buying his sister a sunbed! A serious injury in the 1991 FA Cup final overshadowed his Spurs' career and although he was a cult hero at Lazio and a success at Rangers, his career wound down with uninspiring spells at Middlesborough, Everton, Burnley, Boston United and Gansu Tianma in China. He remains an English football legend, but you have a wonder what kind of player - and person - a consummate man-manager like Alex Ferguson could have made of Gazza's potential.