Owen Coyle has revealed that Manchester City once passed up the opportunity to sign Gary Cahill during his time in charge of Bolton Wanderers.
England international Cahill arrived at Bolton from Aston Villa in 2008 and his performances for the Trotters was known to have alerted a number of clubs.
According to Coyle, champions City had an offer accepted for the centre-back during the summer of 2011, but "something happened" that prevented the deal from being finalised.
"Manchester City came in and offered £17m and a player. That was going to be a huge deal. Obviously, something happened, so he stayed on at Bolton and it never materialised," Coyle told the Daily Mail.
Twenty-eight-year-old Cahill eventually left Bolton for his current club Chelsea in January 2012.