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If there was widespread disbelief among football supporters when Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tévez signed for West Ham United on Thursday, the overriding sentiment among many Manchester United fans was closer to dismay. Mascherano, in particular, would have been the perfect addition to their team's midfield, so their concern is likely to grow with yesterday's revelation from David Gill, the club's chief executive, that Sir Alex Ferguson rejected an invitation to sign the Argentinian on loan last week.
"We watched him (Mascherano) throughout last season and he played at the World Cup," Gill said. "We were offered him at the start of the summer transfer window for a significant sum. The manager and his staff did not want to pursue that. We were also offered him towards the back end of last week in a loan-type deal for a year and again we were not interested. Tévez was never on the shopping list. Mascherano we watched closely and the experts on that area in our club, the manager and his staff, determined that we did not want to go for him."
Gill's admission is certain to place Ferguson's transfer strategy under greater scrutiny since Mascherano and Mahamadou Diarra, who has since left Lyons for Real Madrid, are known to have been the manager's leading targets to reinforce the midfield before a summer during which Michael Carrick was the only acquisition. Subsequently, Ferguson turned his attention to Owen Hargreaves, but the manager's hopes of signing the England midfield player from Bayern Munich for £17 million were dashed by the German club's refusal to sell. Gill confirmed yesterday that he has not given up on a deal for the 25-year-old when trading resumes in the new year.
"Obviously Bayern were very keen — and are very keen — to keep him," Gill said. "If that situation does not change, then obviously we will not acquire Owen. But Bayern will let us know if the situation changes and at that point we hopefully can consummate a deal."