The King, who celebrates his birthday on Monday, was available for transfer in 1991 after falling out of favour in his homeland, and the then-Manchester United boss consulted those in the know to back up his instincts about the player.
Although the response was positive, Cantona underwent a trial with Sheffield Wednesday before ending up with Leeds United, helping Howard Wilkinson's team win the last Division One title before the advent of the Premier League.
The missed opportunity only ended up delaying the perfect union at Old Trafford as the Reds pulled off one of the all-time transfer coups in persuading Leeds to part with their enigmatic centre-forward in November 1992.