10 Players You Probably Didn't Know Man City Almost Signed

3. Ryan Giggs

If one player typifies the Premier League era, it is Ryan Giggs. The upcoming season will be Manchester United€™s first ever foray into a Premier League season without the Welsh winger within their ranks. With 13 league titles and two Champions Leagues having been won down the road at Old Trafford, Man City supporters will rue how different it could have been.

Dennis Schofield, founder of the Deans Youth and a part-time Manchester City scout, spotted Giggs €“ then referred to as Ryan Wilson €“ as a youth, and recommended him to the club.

The young Wilson was training with the Deans Youth Club the following week, with Schofield having orchestrated the arrangement. He described the speed merchant as having possessed a €˜great attitude€™, even at such a young age. Soon, the youth team took part in a weekend tournament at the Isle of Wight, where the future Manchester United manager blossomed, with a certain Paul Scholes and Gary Neville turning out for a side from Oldham.

''At nine, I had him down at City. They rolled out the red carpet for him. For many years, there was a photo on the wall at City of Ryan playing for them. They used to say that when he signs at 14, €˜€™We€™ll have a big do€™€™€™. €“ Dennis Schofield, 2013.

Quick to warn his fellow scouts at City that cross-city rivals Manchester United were sniffing around the talented youngster, following the mini-tournament, Wilson€™s 14th birthday couldn€™t come fast enough.

However, despite City€™s chief scout having assured Schofield that the deal to bring the kid to the club was €˜sorted€™, Sir Alex Ferguson and his chief scout appeared on the Welsh boy€™s doorstep on the day of his 14th birthday, and the boy subsequently sold his soul to the Red Devils. If ever there is a player who doesn't regret a decision made as a teenager, it is the trophy-laden hero of Old Trafford, the artist formerly known as Ryan Wilson.

Contributor
Contributor

Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future. Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.