Saint-Etienne head of recruitment David Wantier admits Wesley Fofana was almost sold to RB Salzburg.
The French defender, now with Chelsea, would eventually leave for Leicester City in a €35m deal.
Wantier recalled to Le Progres: "We had just transferred (William) Saliba to Arsenal.
"For Wesley Fofana, the year before he left for Leicester, everyone wanted to sell him for €5m to RB Salzburg. I had to persuade President Romeyer to keep him for another year.
"I told him, 'president, we're going to be naked defensively'. He was the only person who listened to me, fortunately."