Sir Alex Ferguson went to scout Vincent Kompany and signed Liam Miller instead

Former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany will be facing Manchester United as a manager for the first time this Saturday.

The four-time Premier League winner broke the 100-point barrier with Burnley last season as he led the Clarets to the Championship title. The Turf Moor club are yet to win in the top flight this term but may fancy their chances at home to an out of sorts United.

Kompany is a modern-day City icon, having been at the heart of Pep Guardiola's incredible tenure. But the Belgian's career could have taken a completely different path when he was scouted by Sir Alex Ferguson for United.

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The legendary former Old Trafford boss personally scouted Kompany while he was a youth team star at Anderlecht. In Ferguson's book "Leading" published in 2015, he revealed a document of player analysis from the 2004-2005 season, when United were trailing Chelsea and Arsenal domestically.

The document listed defensive transfer targets, including Kompany, Gabriel Heinze, Gerard Pique and Philippe Mexes. While United eventually signed Heinze and Pique – and Mexes joined Roma – it was Kompany who slipped away, reports the Mirror.

In 2006, Kompany joined Hamburg before eventually making his move to City two years later. Reflecting on his decision not to sign Kompany, Ferguson later revealed that during the youth match he attended specifically to monitor the defender, he became impressed by a young midfielder instead.

"When I went to the Celtic v Anderlecht Champions League tie in Glasgow in November 2003, it was to watch the Belgian defender Vincent Kompany," Ferguson said in 2018. "However, my attention soon gravitated to Celtic’s energetic young midfielder, slight of stature but with an assured, calm way about him.

"What I witnessed was a player with a tremendous set of midfield fundamentals — his movement off the ball, his penetration of the Anderlecht midfield. I came away smitten by his performance, not least the timing of his runs."

This player turned out to be Liam Miller, who joined United several months later. "Leaving Parkhead I was totally determined to get Liam Miller to Manchester United," added Ferguson.

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Miller made 22 appearances for United, before leaving the club to join Sunderland in 2006 and going on to play for QPR and Hibernian before moving to the Australian A-League. The former Republic of Ireland international tragically died aged 36 in 2018 after being treated for pancreatic cancer.

Kompany confirmed in 2015 that United had asked about his future while he was still a youngster in Brussels. He said: "United asked about me, but I had other priorities at the time. I was studying for my A-levels and my mother made me finish my education before I could concentrate on football."

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