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It’s always interesting when players come out years later and reveal they were close to signing for such and such club, and it allows one to think of what could have been for said club, and player.

For example, once considered an incredibly exciting prospect, Alessio Cerci’s career has been, in the end, one of many loans and various transfers between italy and Spain.

The 29-year-old forward, who is still contracted to Atlético Madrid until 2017 following his 2014 transfer from Torino, is currently on loan at Genoa, and on the sidelines due to a knee injury.

Talking to Corriere dello Sport on Monday about his career so far and his time in Spain, Cerci also revealed he was in talks regarding signing for a Premier League club, more precisely Mancini’s Manchester City.

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He said: “He wanted me at City before I signed with Fiorentina. I was very close to the English club, but they backtracked, I think because of a company decision, not Mancini’s.

The forward enjoyed two relatively decent seasons with La Viola, but it was under Giampaolo Ventura at Torino that Cerci really showed his ability.

Scoring 21 goals and picking 23 assists in 73 appearances over two seasons, the winger/striker then earned himself his big break to Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid, which backfired rather unceremoniously.

Who knows what would have happened had he signed for Mancini at City? Would he have been just another Stevan Jovetic?