A young talent to keep the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial on their toes.
Back in November 1992, Alex Ferguson was on the look-out for a new striker.
Dion Dublin was recovering from a leg-break and Ferguson needed someone to take the attacking burden off Mark Hughes and Brian McClair. He looked north and found two men that could do the job.
The first was Sheffield Wednesday’s David Hirst, a player bang in form with the Owls and who often gave United problems when the two sides faced off. The second was Leeds’ Eric Cantona.
Over two decades after his move to United was spurned, Hirst told The Daily Mail:
“I’d been talking to Alex Ferguson for a couple of weeks and I was going to Man United. A fax was sent with an offer of £4.5 million and I was expecting Trevor [Francis] to say, ‘Man United, £4.5m, away you go’. But he said, ‘I’m not selling you’.
“One thing I never did in my career was knock on the manager’s door because I’m not in the team or I want more money. If you’re not happy with the contract, don’t sign it. If you’re not in the team, go out on the training ground and do your best. It’s no good knocking on the door telling him what a good player you are if you’ve not been doing it. I never had a problem with that.”
So Hirst never knocked on the door. Cantona arrived at Old Trafford for £1 million and was a league champion by the seasons’ end. He is fondly remembered by many United supporters as the man that sparked their winning revolution.
26 years on and United are reportedly back in for a Hirst – David’s son George.
According to The Mirror, Hirst is refusing to sign a long-term deal at Wednesday and that has alerted a number of clubs. Everton and Newcastle had both been looking at the 19-year-old England underage star but Leicester City were apparently early favourites to claim his signature.
Representatives of the teenager are now claiming United are interested and that Jose Mourinho’s club are his preferred destination.
Over a quarter of a century on, United may finally have a ‘Hirst’ playing up front for them.
