West Ham boss David Moyes has spoken of missing out on signing Gareth Bale when in charge of Manchester United.

On-loan Real Madrid star Bale is likely to come up against Moyes' West Ham tomorrow on his second debut for Tottenham, but had the Scottish boss had his way he would have been managing the Welsh star at Old Trafford in 2013.

The Hammers boss said: “Gareth Bale was probably the first name I thought of when I got the job. I thought Gareth Bale was a Manchester United player. He was the right type.

“I wanted Gareth Bale to be my first signing at Manchester United. But it was already down the road a bit with Real Madrid. I tried to hijack it. I tried to get him.

“Manchester United offered more money than Real Madrid. They offered more money to the player.

“We did everything we could to try and get the player. We even had a helicopter at the training ground to take him and bring him back. We thought we had a chance.

“But he chose Real Madrid and he made a brilliant decision because he went on to win four Champions Leagues. He's had a brilliant career."