Roy Evans: 'Liverpool nearly signed Gabriel Batistuta'

Former Liverpool manager Roy Evans has revealed that he came close to signing Gabriel Batistuta from Fiorentina during the mid-1990s.

The Argentine was considered one of the best strikers in the world at his peak, scoring nearly 200 goals in Serie A.

"There were talks of him moving from Italy to somewhere else," Evans told Liverpool's official website.

"We had an interest; there were some conversations between Liverpool and his club. He was interested, but unfortunately it just didn't happen.

"It was one of those things where you make an enquiry and it just didn't go any further than that. I'm sure he would have been a great acquisition for us if we had got him."

Batistuta, who netted 56 goals in 78 games for his country, announced his retirement in 2005 following a brief spell with Qatari side Al-Arabi.