Ex-Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko midfielder Charles Taylor claims he was close to replacing former Italian maestro Roberto Baggio.
The Ghanaian enjoyed a fruitful trial at the club but the move was knocked back after Hearts failed to reach an agreement with the Italian side in 2004.
“I was set to join Brescia, I went for trials and I excelled, Stephen Appiah was there at the time and he can testify that,” he spoke on Agoo TV.
“The Coaches and the President liked me and they were eager to sign me, Robert Baggio was about to retire so they wanted me to replace him.
“They even wanted to give me that famous number 10 jersey because they said I deserved it.”
The former Ghana international returned to his native country after the abortive move to sign for local giants Kotoko where he won two Premier League titles.