French star Paye recently revealed that he declined a transfer invitation to Manchester United when he tried to leave West Ham In January 2017. The former Hammers midfielder said he returned to Marseille for family reasons and remained in the south of France after returning home. During that time, he had a glorious time, leading Marseille to the 2018 Europa League final and even winning a spot in that year's France squad for the World Cup, but missed the tournament due to injury. However, Paye said he did not regret the failure of the transfer: "There were other clubs at the time, big clubs like Manchester United and other clubs that wanted me. It is a personal and family choice. I think it's the best for me and my family. I'm not the kind of person who lives in regret. "Even now at 35 years old, he is still an important part of Marseille's squad as they now look to consolidate second place in Ligue 1 and return to the Champions League.
However, if he had joined Manchester United when he left West Ham, his career could have been very different. At the time, United were in their first season in charge of Jose Mourinho, playing in the Europa League, competing for three trophies and Champions League qualification. In his first two months with the team, he would win a dramatic match 3-2 against Southampton in the League Cup final, with Ibrahimovic's goal securing the team's victory. It will be the first major trophy of his career, and he will play in the Europa League final later that year and help United beat Ajax in Stockholm. In terms of style of play, United lack enough creativity over the next two seasons and Paye could change that.
The following season, they were far behind Manchester City in the league, in second place, but with some of Paye's talent and Mourinho's record of working with creative players like the Frenchman, there could be bigger challenges. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may have further exploited this creativity, which he did not get the best team he had during his tenure, but crucial for some attackers such as Rashford, Martial and Bruno Fernandez. Led by the Norwegian, Marcus Rashford and Martial both scored their career-best goals, while Fernandez was one of the league's best creative midfielders at the time. They may not be that good right now, but Paye could repeat the heroic feats of 2015-16, when he was named to the PFA's All-Team that season.