Denis Zakaria has said that Juventus were the only team that pushed the boat out to sign him during the January transfer window.

Manchester United were reportedly offered the Swiss international, with other clubs such as Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool also linked, but the player eventually made the €8m (£6.8m) switch to Turin last month. Zakaria recently spoke out on interest from other teams, stating that Juve were the most determined to get a deal done:

“Juventus are the club that showed the most desire to sign me. There is something to do with the feeling too. You can feel the way people talk to you, the interest people have in you. Other clubs that approached me were more reserved. With Juve, there was an immediate real interest in me, with concrete things from the outset. It’s pleasant, rewarding, and that made the difference.”

United’s decision to not sign a midfielder in January has come in for a lot of criticism from fans, and rightly so. Zakaria could have been a cheap solution to the club’s problems in the middle of the park.

However, it appears that United’s board were reluctant to sanction any deals without a permanent manager in place. There were concerns that any new additions may not feature in the plans of Ralf Rangnick’s successor. There is some merit to that argument but it does present issues for the club in the short term, with Champions League qualification far from guaranteed.