Sir Alex Ferguson once abruptly told a Man United star to join Everton midway through a training session

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Everton have signed a number of players from Manchester United over the years.

Tim Howard, Louis Saha and Phil Neville are notable examples whilst James Garner is a more recent case.

The two northern clubs clearly have a good relationship and that’s largely due to the friendship between Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes.

The two Scottish managers often exchanged players and there was even a remarkable story where they agreed a transfer in the middle of a training session.

With that said, here’s the crazy story of how Darron Gibson joined Everton.

• READ MORE: The real reason why Everton decided against signing Cristiano Ronaldo for just £2m in 2002

Sir Alex Ferguson told Darren Gibson to join Everton midway through training

Speaking to The 42, Darron Gibson told the story of how he was told by Sir Alex to join Everton in the middle of a Manchester United training session.

“I had done some stuff in the gym, put my boots on and started doing the rondo box, some keep ball,” Gibson revealed.

“I was told the gaffer wanted to see me back inside by the bootroom. I jogged back in, the gaffer was there sitting down getting ready to go out. There was no one else there.

“He said Everton were in for me and wanted me. I asked him what he thought and he said I should go for it. I just said, ‘What, like, now?’ The gaffer said, ‘Yeah, now, give your agent a ring and you can go now’. I was like, ‘Alright, sound’.

“We shook hands, I said ‘Thanks very much’, took off my boots, got changed, drove to Everton’s training ground, and David Moyes said the deal needed to be done by 12 to play that weekend against Aston Villa. The medical was about an hour and that was it done.

“It worked out better that way. It was quick, there were no bad feelings or intentions. It was fair enough.”

How did Darren Gibson do at Everton?

Gibson’s £2m transfer to Everton was plagued by injuries for the most part and across his five-year spell on Merseyside, he made just 69 appearances, netting two goals.

The box-to-box midfielder never really fulfilled his potential and actually peaked at United as a young player.

Gibson tried to rebuild his career at Sunderland but the Black Cats suffered back-to-back relegations from the Premier League to League One.

He retired in 2022 aged 34.