Ralf Rangnick wanted to sign defender Joe Gomez while he was still at Charlton Athletic - and was offered Jamie Vardy as an alternative.
Rangnick, who is set to take over at Manchester United as interim manager, was an admirer of the 24-year-old centre-back, but was unable to convince him to move to Germany.
Leipzig were in the second division at the time, but were quickly rising through the ranks and were eventually promoted to the Bundesliga in 2016.
The progression wasn't enough to persuade the England international, however, as he remained at Charlton and moved to Liverpool in 2015.
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Rangnick has previously spoken of his desire to sign Gomez and how he turned down Vardy in the process.
“We desperately wanted to sign Joe Gomez, who later chose Liverpool, and we were flying back from London to Leipzig with his agent,” he told Sport Bild in 2016.
“On the plane, the agent said to me ‘Mr Rangnick, it’s a crying shame that you are so radical about who you sign and only go for players who are under 24 because I’ve got somebody who would be just perfect for you.
“It was Jamie Vardy.”
Rangnick took over as manager of sports and development at Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow earlier this year but he's already expected to take on a new role in the Premier League with United.
According to reports on Friday, United have agreed a deal that will see take over as interim manager until the end of the season before he moves into a consultancy role for two years.
For Gomez, holding out for a move to Anfield certainly paid off as he's won both the Champions League and Premier League with the club in the last six years.
He currently remains sidelined with a calf injury that has seen him miss all of Liverpool's games throughout November.
