Man United: De Rossi move was too late - Garcia

AS Roma Daniele De Rossi celebrates after teammate Yao Kouassi Gervinho (unseen) scored against Sampdoria during their Italian Serie A soccer match at the Luigi Ferraris stadium in Genoa September 25, 2013. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

Manchester United tried to sign Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi during the summer but left it too late.

United signed young Uruguayan defender Guillermo Varela early on before adding Marouane Fellaini on transfer deadline day but failed to bring in any other new recruits. The need to strengthen the midfield has often been acknowledged by pundits and United tried to add Cesc Fabregas who turned them down.

Roma coach Rudi Garcia claims that United had also made an approach for De Rossi but left the bid too late in the transfer window.
Garcia told L'Equipe: "In the summer we talked about his future. He is from Rome, but there were some big clubs looking at him.

"I told him that I could not lose him last minute, so we set a date after which no-one would leave. That is exactly what happened.

"A few days after the first Serie A match of the season, Manchester United called the club and called him, but the date had passed and he didn't move."