Sir Alex Ferguson admits Manchester United had to fight tooth-and-nail to sign Phil Jones from Blackburn Rovers.
Jones joined United in the summer of 2011 for a reported £16.5million fee plus add-ons, but he could have quite conceivably ended up at one of their rivals.
"Blackburn wouldn't sell him in the 2011 January transfer window because they were in a relegation battle," Ferguson wrote in his book, My Autobiography.
"By the end of the season, every club was on his tail: Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea.
"He spoke to all four clubs but we managed to coax him to United, at 19 years of age".
