``He was very close to Juventus, but then other circumstances took over and it wasn't possible to get him,'' Deschamps said in Wednesday's edition of Italian daily Corriere dello Sport.

Mascherano, who came to prominence at this year's World Cup, instead joined West Ham from Brazilian club Corinthians in August _ one of the biggest transfer coups in the off-season.

Juventus was stripped of its past two Serie A titles and relegated to the second division by a sports tribunal in July for its role in Italy's match-fixing scandal.

The 22-year-old Mascherano and compatriot Carlos Tevez, who also transferred to the Hammers from Corinthians, had been linked to Manchester United, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and AC Milan.

The players' contracts are owned by British-based company Media Sports Investment, which is financially involved with Corinthians and is reportedly interested in buying West Ham.