Davids nearly joined United

Tottenham midfielder Edgar Davids has revealed that he almost joined Manchester United in 1996 but in the end left Ajax for AC Milan.

Asked how close he came to joining United, Davids said: "Close? Very. It was the best conversation I have ever had with a manager.

"I won't go into detail but we spoke about general things."
But the 32-year-old said he had no regrets: "Regrets? No, because I didn't do so bad in my career myself."

Tottenham are currently second in the Premiership and Davids is relishing the prospect of testing himself against United when the teams meet at Old Trafford on Saturday.

"Every team is looking up to Manchester United," added Davids.
"Chelsea can go on and have a great history but United have been successful over the years. If you ask any team they would take that history.

"What I like most about them is that they play with big hearts. In the big games it is always there.

"I've always had that desire and it is in Manchester United. Roy Keane has this spirit and when you have that around every day it can become second nature."

But Davids, who joined Tottenham in August on a free transfer from Inter, said that he is enjoying playing for Spurs.

"There is a good atmosphere at Tottenham and we have young players with a lot of talent," said Davids.

"They are developing quickly but the important thing is that they are aware they can be good players."