Manchester United were in hot pursuit of Douglas Costa but Juventus boss Maurizio Sarri refused to sell him this summer, according to the player’s agent.
Brazilian winger Costa suffered from injury problems last season, limiting the amount of game time he received, and United looked to take advantage of this as they went in search of star names to bolster their attack.
However, Sarri – who moved to Turin this summer from Chelsea after replacing former boss Massimiliano Allegri – blocked any potential move.
Giovanni Branchini exclusively told Sportsmail: ‘I sincerely say that Allegri and Sarri have never thought of letting him go.
‘The interest of Manchester United was strong, a club that has always been interested in the Brazilian.
‘It was not the only club but in England it was certainly the most active team on the trail of Douglas Costa.’
Costa has put any injury concerns behind him now and has started brilliantly under Sarri in Serie A as Juventus go on the hunt for their ninth consecutive league title.
Award winning journalist and writer who has worked as a stringer for a couple of acclaimed South Africa based German journalists, covered 3 Ugandan elections, 2008 Kenya election crisis, with interests in business and sports reporting.
