03 July 2023 , 10:31
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Roy Keane has reminded former Manchester United captain Gary Neville that he received a stroke of luck when the Red Devils failed in a move for Stuart Pearce.
Left-back Pearce was targeted by United boss Alex Ferguson early in the manager's Old Trafford tenure. However, with Forest boss Brian Clough standing in the way of a move, the defender ended up racking up more than 500 Forest appearances.
This forced Ferguson into a different approach as he aimed to build a defence capable of challenging for trophies, and it wasn't until 1993 that they ended a long drought for an English top-flight title. That was also the season when Neville made his senior debut in Europe, but things could have gone very differently.
"Bryan Robson tapped us up and said we're interested in you," Pearce said on The Overlap. "You [United] weren't winning anything at the time - Forest were a better proposition.
"But I think Sir Alex was desperate to do it. He said somewhere that he drove because Cloughie wouldn't take his phone calls about me, so he drove to Nottingham and sat in the car park and waited for him to come out the door."
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Neville then suggested that, had Pearce moved to Old Trafford, he might not have been able to break into the first team. The former right-back pointed out that Denis Irwin moved to the left after the efforts to sign Pearce fell flat, paving the way for Neville himself to break through further down the line.
What would United have looked like if Stuart Pearce had signed? Have your say in the comments section
England left-back Stuart Pearce ended up staying at Nottingham Forest (Getty Images)
It was at this point that Keane chimed in. "We could have won more then," the Irishman said when reflecting on the prospect of Irwin on the right and Peace on the left.
"You've always been a lucky b*****d," he told Neville, with a smile on his face. He then turned to Pearce and said "Oh, if only. You on one side and Denis? Proper full-backs."
Pearce would later go on to end his career with United's neighbours Manchester City, after stints with Newcastle and West Ham. He also had a spell as City's manager, leading them to finishes of 15th and 14th in the Premier League.
The failed move for Pearce paved the way for Neville and Keane to spend many years as team-mates (Press Association) "I would have been happier if I could have made further defensive improvement by luring Stuart Pearce away from Nottingham Forest," Ferguson wrote in his autobiography 'Managing My Life'.
"But Brian Clough ensured that I was given no chance to woo his left-back, a player I had long coveted, one whose courage, confidence in his own ability and competitive temperament suggested he would be an ideal wearer of United's colours. I tried to buy Stuart, but Cloughie would not answer the phone!"
United didn't do too badly without Pearce in the end, though. The 1992-93 Premier League title was one of 13 under the Scot, who also led the club to Champions League glory in 1999 and 2008.