Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has said he tried to pitch his former club to Elliot Anderson during a summer holiday -- before being asked to leave the midfielder alone.
The midfielder impressed at Nottingham Forest last season in the Premier League and earned a core role in Thomas Tuchel's England World Cup side, who finished third.
He then completed a move worth up to £116 million ($154m) to United's local rivals Manchester City.
Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Giggs said his chance to try and convince Anderson to head to United came when the two crossed paths playing golf in Portugal.
"It was literally a few days before he went to the World Cup. I peppered him," Giggs said.
"He didn't know how to take it at first, and then he relaxed a little bit."
While Anderson may have initially been cordial enough, his demeanour changed after the first few greens.
"But for the first four or five holes, we were literally crossing. And at the end of it, he went, 'will you just let me, leave me alone,'" Giggs said of the interaction.
"Will you just let me play my golf, please? You're in trouble."
Anderson opted for the blue half of Manchester in August, becoming a part of the club's midfield overhaul under Enzo Maresca.
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New at the club with him are Enzo Fernández, who commanded a £125m transfer fee from Chelsea, and Ayyoub Bouaddi, the 18-year-old who moved for £81m from Lille.
United, meanwhile moved to secure the acquisitions of Andrey Santos (£50m) from Chelsea, Youri Tielemans (£35m) from Aston Villa and Carlos Baleba (£70m) from Brighton.
Ferdinand, who won his six Premier League titles at United playing with Giggs, added: "You've got to try all sorts to get these deals over. It's mad, though."
"Obviously, the price tag was crazy. And it's just like astronomical money. And Man United ain't got the budget to pay for that."
Head to the Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel at 9.00 UK time on Wednesday 9th September to watch the full interview.