Ex-Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has confirmed that he could have signed for Liverpool prior to making the switch to Lyon in 2003.

The Ghanaian international did eventually join a Premier League club, spending 9 years at Stamford Bridge but, speaking about the approach from the Reds, he said the move got so close that he even visited the training ground:

“I had a lot of offers. I was close to signing for Liverpool when Gerard Houllier was their coach. I even went to Melwood to meet the coach. We had a talk, and I returned to France, but the offers were still coming from PSG, Marseille and a few others.”

“But, I told Bastia I didn’t want to move, and they also didn’t want to sell me at that time because they wanted me to stay for another year, which was fine with me.”

Essien had only been playing senior football for a couple of years before Liverpool made their offer and his decision to turn down a switch to Anfield was mainly due to the fact that he felt that he wasn’t ready:

“I thought it was too early to move to England. That was why I joined Lyon and later moved to Chelsea under Mourinho. Lyon was my favourite team when I went to France because they were winning everything. I told my agent that if Lyon have come into the picture, I’d like to join them.”

Liverpool have had plenty of near misses over the years

Essien is not the only big name that the Merseysiders have missed out on over the years. Former United players Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Edwin van der Sar have revealed they could have made the switch to Anfield at certain points in their careers.

All-time leading Premier League scorer Alan Shearer is also said to have been interested in a move to Liverpool at one point, while Kylian Mbappe has confirmed approaches from the Reds in the past.

Watch a preview of Liverpool’s plans for the January transfer window on Shots!TV here